Citation Nr: 21063324 Decision Date: 10/13/21 Archive Date: 10/13/21 DOCKET NO. 17-06 722 DATE: October 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the left knee is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the right knee is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from March 1976 to March 1979. The Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned in November 2019. A transcript of the hearing is of record. In October 2021, the Board issued a decision that denied service connection for arthritis of each knee and bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran appealed the Board's denial to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). The Board's decision was vacated pursuant to a July 2021 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR). The Court granted the JMR in August 2021. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral knee arthritis In the July 2021 JMR, the parties agreed that the Board had not ensured VA's duty to assist was satisfied because it based its denial upon an inadequate medical opinion. It was specifically agreed that the February 2020 VA examiner had impermissibly focused the negative opinion on the Veteran's lack of chronicity of care following service rather than taking into consideration the Veteran's symptoms and testimony of knee pain in the years immediately following service. The JMR noted further that the Veteran's sworn testimony regarding the reasons for lack of treatment were not considered by the examiner. As such, it was agreed that a new VA examination should be obtained. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss Regarding the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss, the parties to the JMR agreed that the Board did not provide adequate reasons and bases for favoring the February 2020 VA examiner's negative nexus opinion over the December 2019 private opinion that supported the Veteran's claim of service connection. It was specifically noted that, while the rationale of the VA examiner included a reference to an Institute of Medicine Study, the examiner did not comment on the study included among the rationale for the positive opinion provided by the private examiner in December 2019. The Board finds that an additional opinion is necessary to reconcile any discrepancies. The matters are REMANDED for the following actions: 1. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral knee arthritis is at least as likely as not related to service. The examiner must specifically comment on the Veteran's testimony regarding his continuous symptoms of knee pain since service and the reasons that he did not seek medical attention for over 20 years after his separation from service. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to acoustic trauma to which he was exposed while in service. The examiner must specifically comment on the medical literature cited by the Veteran's private audiologist in December 2019. A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Joseph P. Gervasio 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.