Citation Nr: 18106295 Decision Date: 05/30/18 Archive Date: 05/30/18 DOCKET NO. 13-36 283 DATE: May 30, 2018 REMANDED Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for asthma is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1963 to March 1967. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2010 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office in Newark, New Jersey. The Veteran presented testimony at a Board hearing before the undersigned in February 2017. A copy of the hearing transcript is of record. 1. Whether new and material evidence has been submitted to reopen a claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran last underwent a VA examination in June 2010. The results of audiometric testing taken during the VA examination indicated that the Veteran’s hearing loss was not considered a disability for VA compensation purposes. The Veteran testified at a personal hearing before the Board in February 2017 that his hearing loss has increased in severity since his most recent VA examination, and that he was provided hearing aids since his most recent VA examination. Therefore, this matter should be remanded for a new VA examination to determine whether or not the Veteran’s reportedly more severe hearing loss meets the criteria for hearing loss for VA compensation purposes as well as the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s claimed hearing loss. Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303 (2007). 2. Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to service connection for sleep apnea. In March 2017, the Veteran submitted medical literature suggesting a connection between his service-connected asthma and his claimed sleep apnea. Therefore, this matter must be remanded in order to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in order to determine the significance, if any, of the Veteran’s asthma to his claimed sleep apnea. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). 3. Entitlement to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for asthma is remanded. The Veteran contends that he is entitled to an initial disability rating in excess of 10 percent for asthma. The Veteran last underwent a VA examination in June 2010. The Veteran testified at a personal hearing before the Board in February 2017 that his asthma had increased in severity since his most recent VA examination. Therefore, this matter must be remanded in order to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s asthma. See Barr. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Updated treatment records, VA and non-VA, should be obtained and added to the claims file. 2. Following completion of the above, arrange to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in order to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran claimed hearing loss. 3. Arrange to provide the Veteran with a VA sleep apnea examination in order to answer the following questions: (a.) Is there a valid diagnosis of sleep apnea currently or at any time since the Veteran filed his claim for service connection in April 2010? (b.) If so, is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that a medical nexus exists between a current diagnosis of sleep apnea and an in-service incurrence? Why or why not? (c.) Is it at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran’s sleep apnea is proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected asthma? Why or why not? (d.) What is the significance, if any, of the medical literature submitted by the Veteran suggesting that the Veteran’s sleep apnea is related to his asthma (available in VBMS: Document Type: Correspondence; Receipt Date: 03/20/2017; page 5 of 6)? Why? 4. Arrange to provide the Veteran with a VA examination in order to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s asthma. BARBARA B. COPELAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD David R. Seaton, Associate Counsel