Citation Nr: 21073702 Decision Date: 12/10/21 Archive Date: 12/10/21 DOCKET NO. 17-57 524 DATE: December 10, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1, 1999 to September 10, 1999, from October 6, 2001 to October 13, 2002, and from August 15, 2004 to August 23, 2007. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran contends that he has bilateral hearing loss due to his military service. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, hearing loss will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 CFR § 3.385. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in September 2016. Audiometric testing indicated the Veteran did not have hearing loss for VA purposes in either ear. However, the examiner did conclude that the hearing loss shown on the examination is at least as likely as not due to exposure to hazardous noise while serving as an infantryman during his service because recurrent exposure to acoustic trauma from weapons fire has been shown to result in the development of hearing loss and/or tinnitus. The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned in August 2021. At that hearing, he testified that his hearing loss has worsened since he was last examined by VA. Thus, considering such allegations, the Board finds that the Veteran should be afforded a new VA examination. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.326, 3.327; Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an updated VA examination for his bilateral hearing loss. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: Does the Veteran have hearing loss for VA purposes, and if so, is it at least as likely as not related to service, including exposure to acoustic trauma during service as an infantryman? The examiner is also directed to discuss the opinion of the September 2016 VA examiner in formulating his opinion. Provide a rationale to support the opinion(s). L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M.D. Taylor, Associate 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.