Citation Nr: 21070053 Decision Date: 11/22/21 Archive Date: 11/22/21 DOCKET NO. 16-58 022 DATE: November 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1981 to February 1982. This matter comes on appeal before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a January 2016 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned VLJ in a January 2020 Board hearing. A copy of the transcript is of record and has been reviewed. The issue on appeal was previously remanded by the Board in March 2021 to obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician as to the etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. Specifically, the Board indicated that a VA audiologist in August 2020 found the Veteran did not meet the diagnostic criteria for bilateral hearing loss at this examination, and therefore, did not provide an etiology opinion as requested by the Board. However, the Veteran met the diagnostic criteria for bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes in a December 2015 VA audiological examinationi. e., during the appeal period. See McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007) (service connection may be warranted if there is a disability present at any point during the claim period, even if it is not present at the most recent examination). The Board's remand instructed the examiner to provide an opinion as to whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability diagnosed during the appeal period (see December 2015 VA audiogram) had its onset during or is otherwise related to service, to include (1) the Veteran's MOS; (2) exposure to hazardous noise when firing M16 rifles, M60/50 Caliber machine guns, and C4 explosives with detonation chords while demolishing bridges; and (3) being too close to a claymore mine explosion during bootcamp. In March 2021, VA obtained a new medical opinion. The examiner stated that the VA examination (in 2020) showed hearing to be with in "normal limits bilaterally." According to the examiner, this meant that the hearing loss in the audiological examination in 2015 was "temporary." The examiner further noted that it was "impossible for a temporary shift would occur 40 years after an exposure to an acoustic trauma." Temporary shifts were noted to be recorded within days after the exposure and thresholds often went back to original levels or near original levels. The Board finds this opinion inadequate. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran's hearing loss may have been "temporary" in 2015; however, this is not, in and of itself, fatal to a claim for service connection. The requirement that a current disability be present is satisfied "when a claimant has a disability at the time a claim for VA disability compensation is filed or during the pendency of that claim...even though the disability resolves prior to the Secretary's adjudication of the claim." (emphasis added), McClain, 21 Vet. App. 319. Therefore, on remand, a new medical etiological opinion should be obtained (which assumes that the Veteran had a bilateral hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes at least at some point during the appeal period). Further, the Board notes that the Veteran has already been awarded service connection for tinnitus, which has been noted to be distracting and interfering with his ability to concentrate during conversation. See December 2015 VA examination. An opinion as to secondary service connection should also be obtained. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician as to the nature and etiology of the bilateral hearing loss diagnosed during the appellate period. **The examiner should assume (for purposes of rendering the opinion) that the Veteran had or has a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes at some point during the appeal period. (a.) After a complete review of the claims file, provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability (to include any "temporary" hearing loss in 2015) had its onset during or is otherwise related to service, to include (1) the Veteran's MOS; (2) exposure to hazardous noise when firing M16 rifles, M60/50 Caliber machine guns, and C4 explosives with detonation chords while demolishing bridges; and (3) being too close to a claymore mine explosion during bootcamp. See February 2016 statement and January 2020 hearing transcript. (b.) If hearing loss is not found to be related to service, provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that the Veteran's hearing loss is either caused or aggravated by his service-connected tinnitus disability. **The examiner is advised that aggravation need NOT be permanent. See Ward v. Wilkie, 31 Vet. App. 233 (2019). (c.) A complete rationale for each conclusion must be provided. 2. Then, readjudicate the claim on appeal. S. B. MAYS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Casadei, 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.