Citation Nr: 21013325
Decision Date: 03/09/21	Archive Date: 03/09/21

DOCKET NO. 17-24 536
DATE: March 9, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is remanded.  

Entitlement to service connection for a mouth condition is remanded.

Entitlement to service connection for a back condition is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active service with the Navy from May 1978 to February 1980.  

This matter is on appeal to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the Board) from a February 2016 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  

In May 2020, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.  A transcript of the hearing is in the evidence of record.  

The Board notes that the March 2017 rating decision granted the Veteran entitlement to service connection for degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine and traumatic brain injury.  Therefore, these issues no longer before the Board.    

Under 38 C.F.R. § 19.31, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) will provide a supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) to the appellant and their representative when the AOJ receives additional pertinent evidence after an SOC or the most recent SSOC has been issued and before the appeal is certified and the appellate record is transferred to the Board.  If pertinent evidence is received prior to transfer of the case to the Board, a request for waiver of AOJ review is not appropriate, and the case must be remanded for a new SSOC.  38 U.S.C. § 7105(e); 38 C.F.R. §§ 19.31, 19.37(a).

In the present case, a CAPRI record was received in May 2017.  This document contained evidence relevant to the Veteran’s claims for hearing loss, tinnitus, and back condition.  This was received after the March 2017 SOC and prior to the August 2018 certification and transfer of the case to the Board.  Therefore, the case must be remanded for AOJ review and issuance of an SSOC.  

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. After considering the relevant evidence received after the March 2017 SOC and prior to the August 2018 certification and transfer of the case to the Board, the AOJ should readjudicate the Veteran’s service connection claims for hearing loss, tinnitus, and a back condition.  The AOJ may conduct any additional development deemed necessary.  If the benefit sought remains denied, the case should be returned to the Board following the issuance of an SSOC.  

 

 

MICHAEL LANE

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K.L. Byers

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.