Citation Nr: 19190875 Decision Date: 12/03/19 Archive Date: 12/03/19 DOCKET NO. 17-03 178 DATE: December 3, 2019 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for a right ear hearing loss disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 2000 to June 2005. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2014 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2019, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript is of record. 1. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for a right ear hearing loss disability is remanded. The Veteran seeks an initial compensable disability rating for his right ear hearing loss. In August 2019, he testified at the Board videoconference hearing that his hearing loss has worsened since the last VA examination in October 2014. The Veteran’s wife has also indicated that his hearing has worsened over the years. See August 2019 Correspondence. Accordingly, the Veteran should be scheduled for a new VA examination to determine the current severity of this disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.327 (a); see Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400 (1997). VA treatment records should also be updated. 2. Entitlement to service connection for sleep apnea is remanded. At the recent hearing before the undersigned, the Veteran contended that his sleep apnea began during or is otherwise attributable to service. Specifically, he asserted that his former girlfriend noticed that he would snore and stop breathing while sleeping. This was around 2003 and reportedly occurred every night. See Hearing Tr. 4. In December 2016 a VA examiner offered an opinion which only addressed secondary service connection. The claims file does not contain an opinion regarding direct service connection; thus, an addendum opinion is needed. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79 (2006). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from August 2018 to the present. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current nature and severity of the Veteran’s service-connected hearing loss. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the disability under the rating criteria. 3. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s sleep apnea. The claims folder should be forwarded to the examiner for review. The need for an in-person examination is left to the examiner’s discretion. Based on a review of the Veteran’s claims file and the relevant lay statements (from the Veteran and his wife) regarding his symptoms, the examiner is to opine as to whether it is at least as likely as not that sleep apnea had onset during active service, or is otherwise related to service. A complete rationale for the requested opinion should be provided. If the examiner feels that the requested opinion cannot be rendered without resorting to speculation, he or she must explain why this is so. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Telamour The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.