Citation Nr: 21004422
Decision Date: 01/27/21	Archive Date: 01/27/21

DOCKET NO. 18-42 679
DATE: January 27, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from February 1962 to February 1964.

This appeal has been advanced on the Board’s docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).  38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2).

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2017 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO), which, inter alia, denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.

In December 2020, the Veteran testified at a virtual hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing is of record.

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

At the December 2020 Board hearing, noted above, the Veteran testified that he has received ongoing treatment for his hearing loss disability from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates.  Additionally, the Veteran testified that he thought his treating clinicians indicated that his hearing loss was related to his military occupation in service.  Treatment records from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates, however, have not been associated with the claims file.  Since these private records are relevant to his claim, and they have not been associated with the claims file, the VA has a duty to undertake reasonable efforts to obtain those records.  Thus, a remand is warranted to enable the RO to obtain these potentially relevant records.  38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c).

Accordingly, the matter is REMANDED for the following action:

After obtaining the necessary information and authorization from the Veteran, undertake the necessary efforts to obtain records of the Veteran’s treatment from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates.  If reasonable efforts prove unsuccessful, the Veteran should be notified and given an opportunity to obtain the records himself.  All records and/or responses received should be associated with the claims file.

 

 

K. Conner

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	M. Ruddy, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.