Citation Nr: 19161069 Decision Date: 08/07/19 Archive Date: 08/06/19 DOCKET NO. 1659388 DATE: August 7, 2019 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from August 1968 to August 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA or Board) from an April 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran seeks entitlement to a compensable rating for his bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran has requested a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss. See July 2019 Appellate Brief. The most recent VA examination for the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss was conducted in April 2015, more than four years ago. The Board also notes there are no updated VA treatment records pertaining to his hearing loss in which to evaluate the current severity of his disability. A remand is necessary to afford the Veteran a contemporaneous examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss. See Allday v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 517, 526 (1995) (indicating that where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of the claimant’s disability, fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a contemporaneous medical examination, particularly if there is no additional medical evidence that adequately addresses the level of impairment of the disability since the previous examination). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the claims file all updated VA treatment records. 2. Afford the Veteran a VA examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran’s claims folder must be reviewed by the examiner in conjunction with the examination. All indicated tests and studies should be accomplished, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail. The examiner should identify and completely describe all current symptomatology. TANYA SMITH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board L. Andersen, Counsel 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.