Citation Nr: 21009082 Decision Date: 02/18/21 Archive Date: 02/18/21 DOCKET NO. 19-32 582 DATE: February 18, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial disability rating for bilateral hearing loss disability in excess of 20 percent prior to September 1, 2018 and in excess of 0 percent thereafter is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from June 1959 to July 1962. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a January 2021 virtual hearing and a transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. Although the issues on appeal were previously characterized, including during the January 2021 hearing, as two, separate issues of entitlement to a restoration of a 20 percent disability rating for bilateral hearing loss and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss, the Board notes that the Veteran’s June 2017 notice of disagreement (NOD) was submitted within one-year of the November 2016 rating decision that initially granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and therein, he specifically sought a higher disability rating for the entire period on appeal. As such, the Board finds that the issue on appeal is best characterized as listed above, which does not prejudice the Veteran in any way as his continuous appeal regarding the initial disability rating assigned inherently includes consideration of the reduction in disability rating that occurred during the pendency of the appeal. Entitlement to an initial disability rating for bilateral hearing loss disability in excess of 20 percent prior to September 1, 2018 and in excess of 0 percent thereafter is remanded. Following a review of the evidence of record, the Board finds that remand is warranted regarding the Veteran’s claim of entitlement to an initial disability rating for bilateral hearing loss disability in excess of 20 percent prior to September 1, 2018 and in excess of 0 percent thereafter in order to afford the Veteran an adequate and current VA audiology examination. A review of the record reveals that the Veteran was afforded VA audiology examinations in October 2016, May 2017, and December 2018. Notably, the results of these examinations are inconsistent, which ultimately leads the Board to remand the matter for a current and adequate VA examination. For example, the October 2016 VA examination documents 0 percent speech discrimination in the Veteran’s right ear, and although the VA audiologist wrote that the use of the right ear speech discrimination score was not appropriate for rating purposes, the rating decision relied on it to assign an initial 20 percent disability rating. Thereafter, the May 2017 VA examination documents speech discrimination of 96 percent in the right ear, which the Board notes is only seven months after the October 2016 VA examination documented a vastly different 0 percent speech discrimination score in the right ear. The RO then apparently relied on the May 2017 VA examination to propose and implement a reduction in disability rating from 20 percent to 0 percent. Most recently, in December 2018, the Veteran underwent another VA audiology examination which was found to warrant a noncompensable disability rating; however, during the January 2021 virtual hearing, the Veteran testified that he had very little hearing in his right ear, and that it was more severe than the results that were documented in the VA examinations of record, including having worsened generally since the December 2018 VA examination. Additionally, the Veteran’s representative requested that the appeal be remanded for a new VA examination based on faulty equipment and inconsistent results from prior examinations. While VA’s duty to assist does not require that a claim be remanded solely because of the passage of time since an otherwise adequate VA examination was conducted, the Board is mindful of the Veteran’s ongoing statements that his hearing loss disability has gotten worse and that the VA examinations of record do not accurately reflect the severity of his bilateral hearing loss disability. Given the above, the Board concludes that a new VA audiology examination is warranted in order to determine the current severity of the Veteran’s service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA audiology examination in order to assess the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability. The VA examiner should fully review the claims file and the directives of this remand. Any indicated diagnostic tests and studies must be accomplished, and all pertinent symptomatology and findings should be reported in detail. A. P. SIMPSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Chad Johnson, 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.