Citation Nr: 21012066 Decision Date: 03/03/21 Archive Date: 03/03/21 DOCKET NO. 15-45 473 DATE: March 3, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for a bilateral hearing loss disability is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army National Guard from September 1968 to January 1969 and in the United States Army from October 1971 to May 1972. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This matter was previously before the Board in August 2019 but was remanded to obtain an adequate VA examination. The Veteran was scheduled for a VA examination on January 2020. In a July 2020 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), his claim for an increased rating in excess of 20 percent for a bilateral hearing loss disability denied. Regrettably, the Board finds another remand is necessary prior to adjudication of the claim on the merits. Specifically, a remand is warranted to afford the Veteran with a VA examination. Based on the August 2018 remand directives, the Veteran was scheduled for a VA examination on January 2020. However, he did not show up to the scheduled VA examination to evaluate the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss. A claimant failing to report for a scheduled examination must show good cause for not doing so. 38 C.F.R. § 3.655; see also Engelke v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 396, 399 (1997); Ashley v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 307, 311 (1992). In the absence of good cause, the Veteran’s claims must be adjudicated based on the evidence of record. 38 C.F.R. § 3.655. In an August 2020 third party correspondence, the Veteran requested that a VA examination be rescheduled because he did not receive notification of a scheduled VA examination. He stated that he would be willing and able to report to any future examinations. Upon review of the Veteran’s claims file, an April 2019 VA 27-0820 Report of General Information indicates that he was contacted by a VA employee about conflicting addresses in the system. It was noted that he had a recent Arizona address but was living in Michigan at the time of that communication. The Veteran stated that he would be living in Michigan for the next six months. He was advised that his address would be changed to reflect the Michigan address from the Arizona address. Subsequent VA correspondence were interchangeably sent to the Veteran’s Arizona and Michigan address. Additionally, a December 2019 examination scheduling request reflects a VA examination scheduled in Arizona. There has been no communication as to when the Veteran returned to Arizona following the April 2019 communication. As such, it remains unclear where the Veteran was residing during the time that his VA examination was scheduled. Additionally, aside from a December 2019 examination request, there is no evidence, such as a letter by VA, indicating notice of the examination. Thus, based on the foregoing reasons and the Board’s duty to assist in obtaining an adequate VA examination, the Board finds it more efficient, and to the benefit of the Veteran, that the AOJ should again afford the Veteran a VA examination. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.159, 3.326. As such, a remand is warranted to provide the Veteran with a VA examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss disability. The AOJ should also take reasonable steps to work in conjunction with the Veteran’s representative to assure that the Veteran gets adequate notice and assistance to ensure that he has the opportunity to report for his examination. The Veteran is reminded that the duty to assist is a two-way street. He has a responsibility to cooperate in the development of all facts pertinent to his claims, to appear for schedule examinations, and to properly notify VA of any changes in his address or contact information. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Contact the Veteran and his representative and ensure that all contact information for the Veteran is current. 2. Obtain any current VA or private treatment records related to the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss disability and associate the records with the Veteran’s claims file. 3. After, schedule the Veteran for an examination to determine the current severity of his bilateral hearing loss disability. It should be noted that the Veteran is competent to attest to factual matters of which he has first-hand knowledge, including observable symptomatology. If there is a medical basis to support or doubt the history provided by the Veteran, the examiner should provide a fully reasoned explanation. A clear rationale for all opinions would be helpful and a discussion of the facts and medical principles involved would be of considerable assistance to the Board. Because it is important “that each disability be viewed in relation to its history [,]” (38 C.F.R. § 4.1), copies of all pertinent records in the Veteran’s claims file, or in the alternative, the claims file, must be made available to the examiner for review. 4. THE AOJ MUST REVIEW THE CLAIMS FILE AND ENSURE THAT THE FOREGOING DEVELOPMENT ACTION HAS BEEN COMPLETED IN FULL. IF ANY DEVELOPMENT IS INCOMPLETE, APPROPRIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION MUST BE IMPLEMENTED. IF ANY REPORT DOES NOT INCLUDE ADEQUATE RESPONSES TO THE SPECIFIC OPINIONS REQUESTED, IT MUST BE RETURNED TO THE PROVIDING EXAMINER FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION. T. Berry Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Xiong, 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.