Citation Nr: 21065831
Decision Date: 10/27/21	Archive Date: 10/27/21

DOCKET NO. 18-49 557
DATE: October 27, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 20 percent for a bilateral hearing loss disability prior to July 27, 2017 is remanded.

Entitlement to a disability rating in excess of 90 percent for a bilateral hearing loss disability from July 27, 2017 to November 22, 2020 is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from February 1953 to February 1955.

In February 2021, the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) remanded the matters on appeal for additional evidentiary development, including any outstanding VA treatment records and audiological examination results found in VA's Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS), e.g., puretone threshold findings and word recognition scores. The requested records were obtained as requested but were audiometric results in the form of a graph, without interpretations as to the puretone thresholds found at the relevant frequencies. Additionally, it is unclear whether the audiological examination used Maryland CNC for the speech discrimination test results. The Board finds that the RO should obtain an interpretation of the audiogram results from a certified audiologist for clarification. See Kelly v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 471 (1995) (the Board should not discount audiograms just because they are in graph form and can remand uninterpreted audiograms for interpretation if the results are subject to multiple interpretations).   

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain an interpretation of the audiogram results that were retrieved from CPRS in response to the February 2021 remand from a certified audiologist. Associate the interpreted reports with the claims file. 

2. Re-evaluate the Veteran's increased rating claims. If any benefit remains denied, issue a Supplemental Statement of the Case to the Veteran and his representative, allowing a reasonable amount of time for response. 

 

 

JENNIFER HWA

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	L. Bush

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.