Citation Nr: 18157100
Decision Date: 12/11/18	Archive Date: 12/11/18

DOCKET NO. 17-52 680
DATE:	December 11, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from July 1964 to July 1966.  This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2016 rating decision.
In August 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) issued an Order granting an August 2018 Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMR).
1. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus
The parties to the JMR found that “the Board did not adequately discuss entitlement based on a theory of delayed-onset tinnitus or Appellant’s January 2018 statement that he had experienced tinnitus since service.”  Although the parties acknowledged that “neither VA Training Letters nor the Manual are binding on the Board” the parties nevertheless essentially found that the August 2016 VA opinion relied upon by the Board was inadequate because it did not consider the concept of delayed-onset tinnitus set forth in VA Training Letter 10-02, which the parties further acknowledged “has been rescinded and incorporated into the M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, Part III, Subpart iv, Chapter 4, which does not discuss delayed-onset tinnitus.”  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain an addendum opinion to the August 2016 VA audiological opinion.  Based on a review of the file and sound medical principles, the examiner should opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not (i.e., 50 percent or greater probability), that the Veteran's tinnitus had an onset during service, or is causally or etiologically due to noise exposure in service.  In so opining, the examiner must do the following: (1) consider whether the Veteran has delayed-onset tinnitus in accordance with former VA Training Letter 10-02 at 5 (March 18, 2010) which notes that tinnitus “may be gradual or sudden, and individuals are often unable to identify when tinnitus began.  Tinnitus can be triggered months or years after an underlying cause (such as hearing loss) occurs”; and (2) consider the Veteran’s January 2018 statement in which he “argue[d] that although he only reported his tinnitus a few years ago, it has bothered him since service when he had begun his military training.”
All opinions should be supported by a clear rationale.
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TANYA SMITH
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Alexia E. Palacios-Peters, Associate Counsel