Citation Nr: 21024074 Decision Date: 04/22/21 Archive Date: 04/22/21 DOCKET NO. 16-27 425 DATE: April 22, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from December 1980 to December 1983. In March 2019, the Veteran and his spouse testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ), of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) seated in Washington, D.C. A transcript of the hearing has been associated with the claims file. In October 2019, the Board remanded this claim to the VA Regional Office (RO) for additional development; the claims file has been returned to the Board for adjudication. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran was evaluated by VA to determine the severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss in March 2013. At the time of his March 2019 Board hearing, he asserted that his bilateral hearing acuity had worsened since his last VA examination six years prior. On remand, in October 2019, the Board directed the RO to afford the Veteran a new VA examination. A December 2019 Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) indicates that the Veteran, in pertinent part, demonstrated speech recognition scores of 88 percent in the right ear and 94 percent in the left ear. Current VA guidelines direct that, when speech recognition is 92 percent or less in a given ear, a modified performance intensity function should be obtained. See VA Handbook of Standard Procedures and Best Practices for Audiology Compensation and Pension Examinations, sec. B, pt. 2, Table 7 (K.C. Dennis ed., 2004) (providing detailed procedures for obtaining a modified performance-intensity function); Revised Audio AMIE Worksheet, Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA) Fast Letter 10-06 (Dep’t of Veterans Affairs, February 17, 2010). This instruction was included in the December 2019 DBQ in Section 1. Also, the examiner, in Section 1C of the December 2019 DBQ, reported that the testing results were valid for rating purposes; however, in Section 1F, they also reported “unable to obtain/maintain seal” and in Section 5, reported “unable to test due to equipment malfunction.” On remand, the RO should afford the Veteran an adequate VA examination to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, one that specifically provides a modified performance intensity function for any speech recognition of 92 percent or less and one that is clear as to any equipment malfunction. The Veteran’s most recent VA treatment records available for Board review are dated in January 2021; on remand, the RO should obtain his updated VA treatment records. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain and associate with the claims file the Veteran’s updated VA treatment records dated since January 2021. 2. Schedule the Veteran for an audiological 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 necessary for evaluating the Veteran’s disability under the rating criteria. If the Veteran demonstrates speech recognition 92 percent or less in a given ear, a modified performance intensity function should be obtained. The examiner should specifically discuss any equipment malfunction and/or any reason to question the validity of testing results. P.M. DILORENZO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Department of Veterans Affairs 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.