Citation Nr: 21009084
Decision Date: 02/18/21	Archive Date: 02/18/21

DOCKET NO. 19-30 447
DATE: February 18, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss prior to August 1, 2018, is remanded.

Entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss from August 1, 2018, through February 20, 2019, is remanded.

Entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss from February 21, 2019, through October 7, 2020, is remanded.

Entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss from October 8, 2020, is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

This matter comes before the Board from a May 2018 rating decision of a VA Regional Office (RO).  

In June 2020, this matter was last before the Board, at which time the Board addressed entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss disability.  Following the Board’s remand, the RO readjudicated the claim and staged the ratings as outlined on the cover page of this Remand.  An appeal from the initial assignment of a disability rating requires consideration of the entire time period involved, and contemplates staged ratings where warranted.  See Fenderson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 119 (1999). 

1. Entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss prior to August 1, 2018, is remanded.

2. Entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 20 percent for bilateral hearing loss from August 1, 2018, through February 20, 2019, is remanded.

3. Entitlement to an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss from February 21, 2019, through October 7, 2020, is remanded.

4. Entitlement to an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss from October 8, 2020, is remanded.

Unfortunately, the matter must once again be remanded.  In its June 2020 Remand, the Board directed the RO to obtain specific clinical findings from an August 1, 2018, VA audiological evaluation and associate them with the record.  

The RO apparently obtained the clinical findings, which are cited by the RO in its November 2020 rating decision and Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), which staged the ratings.  That is, the rating decision noted specific audiological results in a “VA examination… dated August 1, 2018.”  In contrast, the record only contains a VA Audiological note dated August 1, 2018, with speech recognition scores and general hearing loss findings, but no specific audiogram results as outlined in the SSOC.  Without the clinical findings that the RO reviewed, the Board’s appellate review is frustrated.  See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (holding that a Board remand confers on the veteran or other claimant, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand orders).  Accordingly, the claim is remanded.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Attempt to obtain the specific clinical findings from VA audiological evaluations, including the audiometrics/audiograms from the test that occurred on August 1, 2018.  Any negative search results should be noted in the record and communicated to the Veteran pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e).

 

 

SHEREEN M. MARCUS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Joseph R. Keselyak, 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.