Citation Nr: 21005513
Decision Date: 02/01/21	Archive Date: 02/01/21

DOCKET NO. 16-29 354
DATE: February 1, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from April 1977 to September 1979.  

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  

The Veteran appeared at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in December 2020.  A transcript of the hearing is in the Veteran’s file.

1. Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was last evaluated at a VA examination in May 2014. There are no subsequent private or VA audiological evaluations of record. At the December 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that his hearing had worsened since the last examination, noting increased difficulties in hearing what people say. Under these circumstances, the Veteran should be offered a new VA hearing examination to determine the current extent and severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. See e.g., 38 C.F.R. § 3.327 (a). Additionally, the Veteran’s representative suggested updated VA treatment records may have additional information regarding the severity of the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss, and as such, those records should be sought on remand.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any relevant outstanding VA treatment records, to include records since May 2014, and associate them with the claims file.

2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA audiological examination in order to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss. The claims folder should be made available to and be reviewed by the examiner in conjunction with the examination. All necessary tests, including an audiometric evaluation, should be conducted and the results reported in detail. The examination report should also address the lay statements of record and discuss the impact of his hearing loss on his activities of daily living and occupational functioning. 

3. Following any additional indicated development, review the claims file and readjudicate the claim.

 

MICHAEL E. KILCOYNE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	B. Jaigirdar, 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.