Citation Nr: 21074742 Decision Date: 12/16/21 Archive Date: 12/16/21 DOCKET NO. 18-38 763A DATE: December 16, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for skin cancer is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the Navy from March 1957 to February 1961 with subsequent service in the Coast Guard and the Air National Guard. These matters come before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from April 2015 and October 2015 rating decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2021, the Veteran was afforded a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. The transcript is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran is seeking service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran contends that he was exposed to excessive noise while aboard the USS Nantahala for over two years. In August 2021, he testified that his military occupational specialty (MOS) was a storekeeper but that he other duties to include fuel duties. The Veteran stated that he was required to refuel and thus he was continuously exposed to jet noise and aircrafts as they took off and landed. In addition, the Veteran testified that he slept right next to the boiler room and that he was exposed to constant engine room noise. At present, the Veteran has not been afforded a VA hearing examination. The Board finds that the Veteran's claim cannot be comprehensively evaluated without a VA hearing examination and medical opinion. Accordingly, the Veteran's claim is remanded for a VA hearing examination and medical opinion. 2. Entitlement to service connection for skin cancer is remanded. The Veteran is seeking service connection for skin cancer. The Veteran contends that his skin cancer was caused by a variety of contaminant exposures while he was on active duty. Particularly the Veteran feels that he was exposed to jet fuel and other contaminants while aboard the USS Nantahala. The Veteran expressed that he was on AO-60 and that his ship was an "oiler" that carried different types of DFM/Fuels as well as PD-680, red lead pain, and various other chemicals that are the cause of his cancers and ailments. See December 2014 Statement in Support of Claim. The Veteran testified that when he was refueling, he got oil on his body and on his clothing and that he was not able to change his clothes. In addition, the Veteran expressed that he had to clean the ship tank a couple of times and was exposed to dioxin. The Veteran also described an incident in Amsterdam in which the Veteran had to clean up an oil/fuel spill. The Veteran further asserts that he was exposed to contaminated water while he was at Cherry Point. A review of the Veteran's service treatment records note that the Veteran was also exposed to radioactive electron tube while in the U.S. Navy. At present, the Veteran has not been afforded a VA examination for skin cancer. The Board finds that the Veteran's claim cannot be comprehensively evaluated without a VA examination and medical opinion. Accordingly, the Veteran's claim is remanded for a VA examination and medical opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's outstanding VA treatment records to include VA treatment records from Portland VAMC. 2. Ask the Veteran to identify outstanding private treatment records relating to his skin cancer and hearing loss disability, if any. After obtaining any necessary authorization forms from the Veteran, obtain any pertinent records identified and associate them with the claims file. If any requested records are unavailable, the claims file should be annotated as such and the Veteran and his representative notified of such. 3. Thereafter, schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The claims file, including a copy of this Remand, must be made available to, and reviewed by the examiner. All tests and studies deemed necessary by the examiner should be performed, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail. After a review of the record and an examination and interview of the Veteran, the examiner should offer an opinion as to the following: Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed hearing loss is the result of disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service, to include acoustic trauma? The examiner is reminded that the Veteran's lay statements regarding his symptoms, their onset, and treatment must be addressed in any opinion provided. The examiner is also reminded that the absence of a hearing loss disability in service does not preclude service connection if the evidence shows a current hearing loss disability was nevertheless incurred in or aggravated by in-service hazardous noise exposure. The examiner's opinion must address the Veteran's contention that he was exposed to excessive noise while aboard the USS Nantahala, for over two years, to include being continuously exposed to jet noise and aircrafts as they took off and landed; and being exposed to constant engine room noise while sleeping right next to the boiler room. The examiner should set forth all examination findings, along with complete rationale for the conclusions reached. 4. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran's skin cancer. The claims file, including a copy of this Remand, must be made available to, and reviewed by the examiner. All tests and studies deemed necessary by the examiner should be performed, and all clinical findings should be reported in detail. After a review of the record and an examination and interview of the Veteran, the examiner should offer an opinion as to the following: Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater probability) that any diagnosed skin cancer is the result of disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. The examiner is reminded that the Veteran's lay statements regarding his symptoms, their onset, and treatment must be addressed in any opinion provided. The examiner's opinion must address the Veteran's contention that his skin cancer is a result of being exposed to jet fuel, dioxin, and other contaminants while aboard the USS Nantahala. The examiner must address the Veteran's contention that his skin cancer is a result of contaminated water while he was at Cherry Point. The examiner must address the Veteran's exposure to radioactive electron tubes while in the Navy. The examiner should set forth all examination findings, along with complete rationale for the conclusions reached. LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M.D. 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.