Citation Nr: 20034472 Decision Date: 05/18/20 Archive Date: 05/18/20 DOCKET NO. 18-32 632 DATE: May 18, 2020 REMANDED Entitlement to a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1990 to January 1991, January to April 1991, May to October 2005, and August 2006 to February 2007. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In April 2019, the Board, in pertinent part, denied a compensable rating for the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss, and granted service connection for right ear hearing loss. The Veteran appealed the denial of a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). In December 2019, the Court granted a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMPR), vacating the portion of the April 2019 Board decision that denied a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, and remanding the matter for action consistent with the December 2019 JMPR. This appeal has been advanced on the Board’s docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). Pursuant to the December 2019 JMPR, there appear to be outstanding relevant VA treatment records. Specifically, the Veteran’s VA treatment records indicate that VA audiograms were performed on August 29, 2016, and February 14, 2017; these audiograms do not appear to have been associated with the Veteran’s claims file. Upon further review, it also appears as though audiograms performed on March 1, 2017, May 9, 2017, and July 11, 2017, are also missing from the claims file. Thus, remand to obtain these records is warranted. In addition, the December 2019 JMPR notes that the April 2019 Board decision did not properly consider the fact that service connection for right ear hearing loss had been granted. Therefore, remand for a new VA hearing examination that takes the Veteran’s now service-connected right ear hearing loss into account is warranted. This matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Associate any outstanding VA treatment records with the claims file, including the outstanding audiograms performed on August 29, 2016, February 14, 2017, March 1, 2017, and May 9, 2017. Any audiogram performed on July 11, 2017, must also be associated with the claims file if such record exists. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination (or telehealth interview, review of the record, etc., if an in-person examination is not feasible), by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing disability. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. In doing so, the examiner should address the Veteran’s contentions that his hearing tests are either false positive or inconclusive due to the Veteran’s tinnitus which results in his inability to distinguish the beeping and ringing in his ears from the tones produced during the audiogram to test his hearing. The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report his symptoms and history, and such reports must be specifically acknowledged and considered in formulating any opinion. If the examiner rejects the Veteran’s reports, he or she must provide a reason for doing so. All findings must be reported in detail and all opinions must be accompanied by a clear rationale. If any of the above issues cannot be resolved without resorting to speculation, then a detailed medical explanation as to why this is so must be provided. M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Elias, Associate 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.