Citation Nr: 18159921
Decision Date: 12/20/18	Archive Date: 12/20/18

DOCKET NO. 14-27 960A
DATE:	December 20, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from December 1963 to January 1968. 
In December 2017, a Board videoconference hearing was held before the undersigned; a transcript of the hearing is associated with the record. In January 2018, the undersigned remanded the above issue for a VA audiological examination to take into account the Veteran’s lay statements regarding his symptoms after service. Importantly, the September 2012 VA audiological examination was found to be inadequate because it failed to take into account any lay statements from the Veteran.
While the Veteran was rescheduled for a VA audiological examination in September 2018, the report is absent for consideration of the Veteran’s lay statements. A Board remand confers upon the Veteran, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand order. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). Thus, in accordance with Stegall, remand for full compliance with the Board’s prior remand is warranted. Therefore, the matter is remanded so that the September 2018 VA examiner can address the Veteran’s contentions in an addendum opinion. Stegall, 11 Vet. App. at 270-71.
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
Obtain an addendum opinion from the September 2018 VA examiner addressing whether the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure, to include working on the flight line without hearing protection.  If this examiner is unavailable, another audiologist should provide the opinion.
The examiner must reference the Veteran’s contentions to include, but not limited to, the following documents: statement in support of claim (received May 2012), notice of disagreement (received October 2012), VA Form 9 (received August 2014), testimony given at December 2017 Board hearing, and statement in support of claim (received November 2018). Particularly, the examiner should address the Veteran’s lay statements that he did not complain of hearing problems during service due to his fear of losing flight status, and that he experienced hearing problems some 30 years ago. 
 
If the September 2018 VA examiner is unavailable, provide a copy of the claims file to the appropriate clinician to provide the requested opinion.
 
  Nathaniel J. Doan
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Dellarco, Associate Counsel