Citation Nr: 21021711
Decision Date: 04/13/21	Archive Date: 04/13/21

DOCKET NO. 18-52 895
DATE: April 13, 2021

REMANDED

An initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from January 1954 to December 1955 in the U.S. Army. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an October 2018 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

This case has been advanced on the Board’s docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).

The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a virtual Board hearing in March 2021. A copy of the hearing transcript is associated with the record.

During the March 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that his bilateral hearing loss has increased in severity since his September 2018 VA examination. Accordingly, the Board finds that remand is warranted to provide the Veteran an opportunity to report for a VA examination to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of his bilateral hearing loss disability.

 

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records.

2. 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 and report all signs and symptoms. Audiological testing must be performed, to include speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC test. 

 

JOHN Z. JONES

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	T. Kernen, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.