Citation Nr: 20009783 Decision Date: 02/06/20 Archive Date: 02/05/20 DOCKET NO. 15-44 336 DATE: February 6, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served in active duty from July 1966 to July 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a March 2015 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss The Veteran contends that he is entitled to a 30 percent rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran first filed a claim for an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss in October 2014. The Board notes that the Veteran was last afforded a VA examination for compensation and pension purposes in February 2015. Since this examination, the Veteran has stated that his symptoms have worsened. In a January 2020 appellant brief, the Veteran’s representative contends that the Veteran’s current hearing loss condition has changed since the last VA examination, thereby making the previous VA examination inadequate for rating purposes. The VA’s duty to assist includes providing a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination, especially where it is necessary to determine the current level of a disability. Peters v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 540, 542 (1994). As the Veteran was last afforded a VA examination over six years ago and there is evidence demonstrating that his disability may have worsened, a more contemporaneous examination is warranted in order to ensure that the record reflects the current severity of the Veteran’s service-connected bilateral hearing loss. See Caffrey v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 377, 381 (1994) (determining that Board should have ordered contemporaneous examination of Veteran because a 23-month old exam was too remote in time to adequately support the decision in an appeal for an increased rating); Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121, 124 (1991) (holding that where the record does not adequately reveal the current state of that disability, the fulfillment of the statutory duty to assist requires a thorough and contemporaneous medical examination). Accordingly, a remand is necessary for a new VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain updated VA and/or identified pertinent private treatment records to the extent possible. If such records are unavailable, the Veteran’s claims file must be clearly documented to that effect and the Veteran notified in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (e). (Continued on the next page)   2. After the above has been completed to the extent possible, schedule the Veteran for an VA audiology examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss using the most recent DBQ examination form. The claims file, including all recently obtained treatment records, should be made available to the examiner. Any studies, tests, and evaluations deemed necessary by the examiner must be performed, including the Maryland CNC test and a puretone audiometry test. The examiner should report the extent of the Veteran’s disability in accordance with VA rating criteria and include an opinion regarding the functional effects caused by the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss. G. A. WASIK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Hughes, Law Clerk 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.