Citation Nr: A21020375 Decision Date: 12/22/21 Archive Date: 12/21/21 DOCKET NO. 190624-22853 DATE: December 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an earlier effective date for service-connection for erectile dysfunction is remanded. Entitlement to an increased rating for erectile dysfunction is remanded. Entitlement to an earlier effective date for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from September 1981 to December 1983. A March 2019 rating decision established service connection for erectile dysfunction and assigned a 0 percent rating, effective January 5, 2012; and entitlement to special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ effective January 5, 2012. On June 24, 2019, VA received the Veteran's VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal (Notice of Disagreement). The Veteran requested a hearing docket review of an appeal by the Board. Consequently, this case comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from the March 2019 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration Regional Office (RO). In May 2021, the Veteran attended a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of that hearing is of record. Under the hearing review election, the Board may consider evidence submitted to VA at the time of the previous Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on the issues on appeal in March 2019, any evidence submitted at the Veteran's May 2021 Board hearing, and any evidence submitted within 90 days after the scheduled hearing. VA will not seek additional evidence on behalf of the Veteran as part of the review. 38 C.F.R. § 20.303. VA will not seek any additional evidence on behalf of the Veteran as part of the review. 1. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran is also seeking entitlement to service connection for a disability manifested by vertigo or loss of equilibrium, in addition to increased ratings for a hearing loss and tinnitus. However, those claims are before the Board under the Legacy framework of adjudicating appeals. Therefore, those claims will be addressed a separate decision when they come before the Board. 2. Entitlement to an earlier effective date for service-connection for erectile dysfunction is remanded. 3. Entitlement to an increased rating for erectile dysfunction is remanded. 4. Entitlement to an earlier effective date for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ is remanded. In numerous correspondences to the Board, to include a June 2019 VA Form 10182 Notice of Disagreement, the Veteran asserted that the AOJ committed a clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the June 1984 and November 2004 rating decisions that denied claim for service connection for a testicular conditions and groin pain. The Veteran argues that the Agency of Jurisdiction did not consider all the evidence of record at the time of the June 1984 and November 2004 rating decisions. As a result, the Veteran believes he is entitled to an earlier effective date and higher rating for service connection for erectile dysfunction. Notably, a favorable determination of a claim of CUE could impact adjudication of the claim for an increased rating for erectile dysfunction and entitlement to an earlier effective date for special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ. Thus, the claims are inextricably intertwined. Parker v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 116 (1994); Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180 (1991). The Agency of Original Jurisdiction has not considered whether there was CUE in the June 1984 and November 2004 rating decisions, and the Board cannot address that matter in the first instance. Bowen v. Shinseki, 25 Vet. App. 250 (2012). Accordingly, the Board must remand the claims on appeal for initial consideration of the inextricably intertwined claim of CUE, in the first instance. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Adjudicate the issue of whether there was clear and unmistakable error in June 1984 and November 2004 rating decisions that denied service connection for groin pain or testalgia. Harvey P. Roberts Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Mondesir, Eric 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.