Citation Nr: 21008008 Decision Date: 02/11/21 Archive Date: 02/11/21 DOCKET NO. 17-36 255A DATE: February 11, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for right foot numbness is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for left foot numbness is remanded. Entitlement to disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss higher than 0 percent from April 2, 2014, and 10 percent from November 7, 2016, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had served on active duty from April 1967 to March 1970. In 1967 he served at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for more than 30 days. He served in Vietnam from September 1967 to December 1969. The Veteran has sought service connection for bilateral lower extremity disorders described as peripheral neuropathy of each lower extremity and as numbness of each foot. In rating decisions in March 2014 and January 2015, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) denied service connection for those disorders. The Veteran appealed those denials to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board). In April 2014 the Veteran sought service connection for bilateral hearing loss. In a January 2015 rating decision, the RO granted service connection, effective April 2, 2014, for bilateral hearing loss, and assigned a disability rating of 0 percent. The Veteran appealed the rating to the Board, seeking a higher rating. In a June 2017 rating decision, the RO increased the rating to 10 percent effective November 7, 2016. The Veteran continued his appeal of the ratings. The present appeal is for ratings higher than 0 percent from April 2, 2014, and higher than 10 percent from November 7, 2016. 1. Service connection for right foot and left foot numbness The Board is remanding this issue for VA medical examination and opinion. The Veteran contends that numbness in his feet is attributable to events and exposures during his service, including his presumed exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and his presumed exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. VA has not provided medical examination or opinion addressing the etiology of disorders associated with those symptoms. The Board is remanding the claim for VA examination, with file review, and opinion as to the nature and etiology. 2. Disability ratings for bilateral hearing loss The Board is remanding this issue for a new VA medical examination. The Veteran contends that his hearing impairment has warranted ratings higher those the RO has assigned. In addition, he reports that his hearing impairment has worsened since the most recent VA testing of his hearing, in 2018. The Board is remanding the issue for a new VA examination to obtain current findings. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. For the VA examinations requested below, schedule the examinations when, in the opinion of the Veteran, and in the opinion of an appropriate official at a VA medical facility near the Veteran, it is reasonably safe, in light of local conditions with regard to the COVID pandemic, to perform in-person examinations. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to address the nature and likely etiology of disorders manifested by numbness, tingling, and pain in his lower extremities, including his feet. Ask the examiner to review the Veteran’s claims file, to obtain from the Veteran history of the symptoms he reports, and to examine the Veteran. Inform the examiner that VA accepts that the Veteran served at Camp Lejeune while the water was contaminated and presumes that he was exposed to herbicides during his service in Vietnam. Ask the examiner to provide diagnoses for current disorders associated with the reported symptoms. Ask the examiner, for each such disorder, to provide opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the disorder had onset during the Veteran’s service 1967 to 1969, had onset soon after his service, is related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, or is related to his exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. Ask the examiner to explain each conclusion and opinion. (Continued on the next page)   3. Schedule the Veteran for a VA audiology examination with testing to determine his current hearing levels and hearing impairment. 4. Then review the expanded claims file and review the remanded claims. If any claim is not granted to the Veteran’s satisfaction, issue a supplemental statement of the case and afford the Veteran and his representative an opportunity to respond. Then return the case to the Board for appellate review, if otherwise in order. K. PARAKKAL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Kunz, Kirsten 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.