Citation Nr: 18158208 Decision Date: 12/14/18 Archive Date: 12/14/18 DOCKET NO. 17-19 353 DATE: December 14, 2018 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to service connection for choroidal atrophy, claimed as left eye blindness, is remanded. The issue of entitlement to total disability based upon individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in the U.S. Navy Reserves and then in the U.S. Navy on active duty from July 1959 to July 1965. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of an October 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In the instant case, the Veteran has been diagnosed with choroidal atrophy and drusen. The Veteran asserts that he served in boiler rooms while in the United States Navy, and that on at least one occasion he was lighting a boiler and a flashback flame from the boiler singed his eyebrows and he began experiencing vision problems in the left eye shortly after separation. It is his contention that the boiler incident has caused the severe vision loss in his left eye. A VA medical examination and accompanying medical opinion is needed to ascertain the etiology of his current left eye disabilities. Ongoing VA and private medical records should also be obtained before the VA examination. The Veteran is service connected for hearing loss, currently rated at 50 percent disabling and tinnitus, currently rated at 10 percent disabling. The Veteran asserts that the hearing loss, tinnitus, and the left eye disability prevent him from obtaining and maintaining gainful employment. See April 2017 VA Form 9. The Board finds that the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to TDIU is inextricably intertwined with the remanded service connection claim for the left eye and a remand is required for the TDIU claim. Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991) The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Ask the Veteran to identify all outstanding treatment records relevant to his left eye claim and his employability. All identified VA records should be added to the claims file. All other properly identified records should be obtained if the necessary authorization to obtain the records is provided by the Veteran. If any records are not available, or the Veteran identifies sources of treatment but does not provide authorization to obtain records, appropriate action should be taken (see 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)-(e)), to include notifying the Veteran of the unavailability of the records. 2. After records development is completed, the Veteran should be afforded a VA eye examination to determine the nature of any left eye disability to include choroidal atrophy and drusen, and to obtain an opinion as to whether such is related to service. The claim file should be reviewed by the examiner. All necessary tests should be conducted and the results reported. The examiner should elicit a full history from the Veteran and consider the lay statements of record. It is noted that the Veteran is competent to attest to factual matters of which he has first-hand knowledge. If there is a medical basis to support or doubt the history provided by the Veteran, the examiner should provide a fully reasoned explanation. Following review of the claims file and examination of the Veteran, the examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that any current disability of the left eye is related to an in-service injury, event, or disease. The examiner is asked to specifically comment on whether the Veteran’s reported history of a flashback flame from a boiler caused or resulted in choroidal atrophy and/or drusen in the left eye. (Continued on the next page) A rationale for all opinions expressed should be provided as the Board is precluded from making any medical findings. Nathan Kroes Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Russell P. Veldenz, Counsel