Citation Nr: 21064577 Decision Date: 10/20/21 Archive Date: 10/20/21 DOCKET NO. 17-20 836 DATE: October 20, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left knee is remanded. Entitlement to an increased rating for patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative joint disease of the right knee is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable rating for a surgical scar of the right knee is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from October 1970 to August 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2014 rating decision of a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In December 2019, the Veteran testified before a Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of this hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a low back disability is remanded. The Veteran seeks service connection for a low back disability and increased ratings for bilateral hearing loss, bilateral knee disabilities, and a surgical scar of the right knee. At his December 2019 hearing, the Veteran testified that he had received VA medical treatment in the past year at the VA clinic in Daytona Beach. Review of the record indicates the Veteran's VA medical records were most recently requested in 2015, six years ago. As VA has been put on notice of additional outstanding VA treatment records, remand is warranted to obtain this pertinent evidence. At his hearing, the Veteran also reported recent private treatment for various service-connected disability. Appropriate efforts should be made to obtain this evidence and associate it with the claims folder. 2. Entitlement to a compensable rating for patellofemoral pain syndrome of the left knee is remanded. 3. Entitlement to an increased rating for patellofemoral pain syndrome with degenerative joint disease of the right knee is remanded. The Veteran seeks increased rating for his service-connected right and left knee disabilities. These disabilities were afforded a VA examination in December 2013. An additional VA orthopedic examination was afforded the Veteran in April 2020; however, these examination findings are incomplete. For example, the examiner did not provide range of motion findings for both active and passive range of motion of the knees. Thus, a full and recent VA examination of the Veteran's bilateral knee disabilities is required. 4. Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran seeks an increased rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. This disability was most recently examined by VA in December 2013, nearly 8 years ago. As the Veteran has asserted this disability has worsened in severity, a new VA examination is warranted. At his December 2019 hearing, the Veteran reported undergoing a VA audiometric examination in the past year. As VA examination reports and outpatient treatment records after 2015 are not yet of record, the Board is unable to determine if a more recent VA audiometric examination was afforded the Veteran. 5. Entitlement to a compensable rating for a surgical scar of the right knee is remanded. The Veteran seeks an increased rating for his service-connected surgical scar of the right knee. This disability was most recently examined by VA in December 2013, nearly 8 years ago. As the Veteran has asserted this disability has worsened in severity, a new VA examination is warranted. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from 2015 to the present from the VA Outpatient Clinic in Daytona Beach, as well as any other VA facility at which the Veteran has received treatment since 2015. 2. Ask the Veteran to complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any private care provider(s) who has treated his service-connected disabilities or his low back disability. Make two requests for the authorized records from any identified providers, unless it is clear after the first request that a second request would be futile. 3. Schedule the Veteran for a VA orthopedic examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected right and left knee disabilities. The examiner is requested to review all pertinent records associated with the claims file. The examiner should report all signs and symptoms necessary for rating the bilateral knee disabilities under the rating criteria. In particular, the examiner should provide the range of motion in degrees of each knee. In so doing, the examiner should test the Veteran's range of motion in active motion, passive motion, weight-bearing, and nonweight-bearing. If the examiner is unable to conduct the required testing or concludes that the required testing is not necessary in this case, he or she should clearly explain so in the report. The presence of objective evidence of pain, excess fatigability, incoordination and weakness should also be noted, as should any additional disability (including additional limitation of motion) due to these factors. A clear rationale for all opinions would be helpful and a discussion of the facts and medical principles involved would be of considerable assistance to the Board. 4. Schedule the Veteran for such an examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The examiner should provide a full description of the Veteran's hearing loss disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. 5. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected surgical scar of the right knee. 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. 6. After undertaking any additional development deemed appropriate and giving the Veteran full opportunity to supplement the record, adjudicate the Veteran's pending claims in light of any additional evidence added to the record. If any benefit sought on appeal remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be furnished with a Supplemental Statement of the Case and be afforded the applicable opportunity to respond before the record is returned to the Board for further review. M. Donohue Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Thomas D. Jones, 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.