Citation Nr: 19132829 Decision Date: 04/26/19 Archive Date: 04/26/19 DOCKET NO. 17-52 065 DATE: April 26, 2019 ORDER 1. Entitlement to an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss, to include on an extra-schedular basis pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.321, is denied. 2. Entitlement to a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability, to include on an extra-schedular basis pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b), is remanded. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran is service connected for bilateral hearing loss with a noncompensable rating. 2. The Veteran claims that he is unable to secure employment because of his service connected bilateral hearing loss. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss, to include on an extra-schedular basis pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.321, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5103, 5103A, 5107(b) (2014); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.321, 4.7, 4.85, 4.86 (2015). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Navy from September 1960 to October 1963. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2016 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Houston, Texas. The RO denied the Veteran a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran claims that his service connected bilateral hearing loss warrants a compensable rating. He has difficulty hearing in normal settings and often gets confused in conversation. In November 2016, a VA examination found that the Veteran’s left ear has a 92 percent speech discrimination. Decibel (dB) loss at the puretone threshold of 500 Hertz (Hz) is 45, at 1000 Hz is 45, at 2000 Hz is 55, at 3000 Hz is 65, and at 4000 Hz is 80. The average decibel loss is 61 in the left ear. The Veteran’s right ear shows a speech discrimination of 96 percent. The Veteran’s right ear Decibel (dB) loss at the puretone threshold of 500 Hertz (Hz) is 45, at 1000 Hz is 50, at 2000 Hz is 55, at 3000 Hz is 90, and at 4000 Hz is 105. The average decibel loss is 75 in the right ear. An evaluation of 0 percent is assigned because the right ear has a speech discrimination of 96 with an average decibel loss of 75 and the left ear has a speech discrimination of 92 with an average decibel loss of 61. The evaluation for hearing loss is based on objective testing. Higher evaluations are assigned for more severe hearing impairments. The Veteran’s symptom, difficulty hearing, is contemplated by the rating criteria and therefore there is also no basis for a higher rating on an extra-schedular basis pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.321. The Board has reviewed the argument made by the veteran’s attorney in March 2019 regarding entitlement to an extra schedular rating. The impact on the Veteran’s ability to work because of his hearing loss disability is address in the issue of entitlement to TDIU on an extra schedular basis which is the subject of the REMAND portion of this decision. To the extent the Veteran is asserting entitlement to an extra-schedular rating under 3.321, the Board finds that the first element of that claim, symptoms that are not contemplated by the rating criteria, are not present. The Veteran has difficulty hearing and that is a symptom that is contemplated by the rating criteria. See Thun v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 111 (2008). REMANDED Entitlement to a total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability, to include on an extra-schedular basis pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b), is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities do not meet the schedular requirements for TDIU under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). However, in a July 2009 statement, the Veteran indicated that he cannot work due to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability. The Veteran’s attorney made a similar argument in March 2019. The Veteran’s claim for TDIU is being remanded and referred to VA’s Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Refer the Veteran’s claim for TDIU to VA’s Director of Compensation Service for extraschedular consideration. ROBERT C. SCHARNBERGER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Boyea, Law Clerk