Citation Nr: 21065221
Decision Date: 10/25/21	Archive Date: 10/25/21

DOCKET NO. 18-00 229
DATE: October 25, 2021

REMANDED

The claim of entitlement to an increased rating for bilateral hearing loss disability is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from September 1972 to July 1980. 

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a September 2017 rating decision by a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  

In the rating decision, the RO denied a claim of entitlement to a rating higher than 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss disability.  The RO also reduced the rating to 0 percent.  The Veteran did not appeal the reduction in rating.  He did appeal the issue regarding an increased rating.    

In July 2021, the Veteran testified in a hearing before the Board.  A transcript of the hearing is included in the electronic claims file and has been reviewed.  

A remand is warranted for additional medical inquiry into the claim.  

During the Board hearing the Veteran described a level of hearing loss which differs significantly from the findings noted in the most recent VA audiology examination conducted in April 2017.

Another VA audiology examination should be conducted.  See Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121 (1991).

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule an examination into bilateral hearing loss disability.  After reviewing the electronic claims file, interviewing the Veteran, and examining him, the examiner should comment on the nature and severity of hearing loss.  

In rendering the requested report, the examiner should note that the Veteran is competent to attest to matters of which he has first-hand knowledge, including observable symptomatology.

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In remanding this case, the Board makes no credibility determination, expressed or implied, at this juncture.

If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she shall provide a complete explanation for why an opinion cannot be rendered.  In so doing, the examiner shall explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information, or that he or she has exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to that particular question(s).

 

 

G. A. WASIK

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Christopher McEntee

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.