Citation Nr: 21015307 Decision Date: 03/17/21 Archive Date: 03/17/21 DOCKET NO. 17-10 076 DATE: March 17, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. Entitlement to total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1969 to July 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In December 2020, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the transcript is associated with the evidentiary record. 1. Entitlement to an initial rating in excess of 50 percent for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. At his hearing, the Veteran testified that his PTSD symptoms have worsened since his September 2015 VA examination. Remand is warranted to ascertain the current severity of the Veteran’s PTSD symptoms. The Veteran also testified to receiving mental health treatment from the Veteran’s Center in Lakewood New Jersey since 2015. This evidence is not currently in the record. VA has a duty to assist claimants to obtain evidence needed to substantiate a claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c) (2017). This includes making as many requests as are necessary to obtain relevant records from a Federal department or agency, including, but not limited to, military records, VA medical records, records from facilities with which the VA has contracted, and records from Federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2). As such, remand is warranted to obtain the outstanding records. 2. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. Evidence shows that the Veteran was afforded a VA examination for his hearing loss in September 2015. The record also contains an audiological evaluation from November 2020. However, at his December hearing, the Veteran asserted that the severity of his hearing loss has worsened. As such, remand is warranted for a new VA examination. 3. Entitlement to total disability due to individual unemployability (TDIU) is remanded. When evidence of unemployability is submitted during the course of an appeal from an assigned disability rating, a claim for entitlement to a TDIU will be considered to have been raised by the record as "part and parcel" of the underlying claim. Rice v. Shinseki, 22 Vet. App. 447, 453-54 (2009). Here, the Veteran testified that he stopped working full time in 2015 because of his PTSD. As such a claim for TDIU is raised by the record, and remand is appropriate to afford the Veteran the opportunity to complete VA form 21-8940. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain all outstanding VA treatment records. 2. Obtain the Veteran’s treatment records from the Vet Center in Lakewood, New Jersey for the period from January 2015 to the present. If any requested records are not available, or the search for any such records otherwise yields negative results, that fact must clearly be documented in the claims file. Efforts to obtain these records must continue until it is determined that they do not exist or that further attempts to obtain them would be futile. The non-existence or unavailability of such records must be verified, and this should be documented for the record. Required notice must be provided to the Veteran and his or her representative. 3. Ask the Veteran to complete VA Form 21-8940. 4. After all outstanding treatment records have been obtained, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected PTSD. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. The examiner must attempt to elicit information regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of symptoms. To the extent possible, the examiner should identify any symptoms and social and occupational impairment due to his PTSD alone. 5. After all outstanding treatment records have been obtained, schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability, including audiological testing and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. 6. After the above development, and any additionally indicated development, has been completed, readjudicate the issues on appeal. If the benefit sought is not granted to the Veteran’s satisfaction, send the Veteran and his representative a Supplemental Statement of the Case and provide an opportunity to respond. If necessary, return the case to the Board for further appellate review. Jennifer White Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Wimbish, 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.