Citation Nr: 18157917
Decision Date: 12/13/18	Archive Date: 12/13/18

DOCKET NO. 16-51 191
DATE:	December 13, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from January 2003 to September 2003 and July 2009 to July 2010.
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).
1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is remanded. 
In an October 2015 statement, the Veteran asserted that the left ear hearing loss has increased in severity since he was last examined by VA.  The RO then scheduled him for a VA examination in May 2017 to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of his left ear hearing loss.  During this examination, the examiner noted the Veteran’s responses were inconsistent and not reliable.  Therefore, the examiner was unable to determine whether the Veteran’s left ear hearing had worsened. 
Because the May 2017 VA examination is inconclusive due to lack of consistency, unreliability of responses at that time, and the Veteran’s previous history of acceptable puretone threshold and speech discrimination results, a remand is warranted in this case.  Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007).
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain any relevant outstanding VA, Army Reserve, and private treatment records and associate them with the Veteran’s claims file.
2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA audiological examination with an appropriate examiner to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss.  All indicated studies, including audiometric testing should be performed, and all findings should be reported in detail.  The examiner should also fully describe the functional effects of the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss.  The rationale for any opinions offered, without resort to speculation, should be provided.

 
CAROLINE B. FLEMING
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Christopher W. King, Law Clerk