Citation Nr: 21021271
Decision Date: 04/12/21	Archive Date: 04/12/21

DOCKET NO. 14-29 428
DATE: April 12, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from November 1983 to February 1984.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2010 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Boston, Massachusetts. This matter was remanded by the Board in March 2018 and March 2020 for further development. 

1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

Specific to the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss, his attorney, in a February 2021 statement, requested a copy of the VA examination referenced in the February 2021 Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC), as well as the name and curriculum vitae of the examiner who conducted the examination. On remand, the RO should provide the Veteran copies of the hearing loss Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) and medical opinion completed in January 2021, as well as the name and curriculum vitae of the examiner. See Francway v. Wilkie, 940 F.3d 1304 (Fed. Cir. 2019).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Provide the Veteran copies of the hearing loss DBQ and medical opinion completed in January 2021, as well as the name and curriculum vitae of the examiner. If the curriculum vitae of the examiner is not available, the RO should advise the Veteran of such and note the reasons for such in the record.

 

 

P.M. DILORENZO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	T. Mohammad

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.