Citation Nr: 21025530 Decision Date: 04/28/21 Archive Date: 04/28/21 DOCKET NO. 18-42 679 DATE: April 28, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from February 1962 to February 1964. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) which, in pertinent part, denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran’s timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) was received by VA in December 2017. In August 2018, the RO issued a Statement of the Case (SOC). In August 2018, the Veteran perfected a timely appeal via his submission of a VA Form 9. In December 2020 the Veteran testified at a virtual Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the hearing transcript is a part of the record. In January 2021, the Board remanded the matter for further evidentiary development. In March 2021, the RO issued a Supplemental Statement of the Case (SSOC) and the Veteran’s appeal is now returned to the Board. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Veteran contends that his current bilateral hearing loss is due to his time in Armor School at Ft. Knox, where he was assigned as a turret mechanic. The Veteran explained he experienced noise exposure from test firing the tanks and frequent live fire exercises. He also contends that his service treatment records do not note his hearing loss because he was never given a proper annual hearing exam. The Veteran further alleges the testing procedure from that time, referred to as the whisper test, is known to be outdated. See December 2017 NOD. At his December 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he had received ongoing private treatment for his hearing loss disability from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates. He testified that he thought his private treating clinician may have indicated that his hearing loss was related to his military occupation in service. In light of his testimony, in January 2021 the Board remanded the matter to allow the Veteran the opportunity to submit or authorize the release of records from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates. In February 2021, VA sent a letter to the Veteran requesting that he either submit records from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates or return completed VA Form 21-4142 (Authorization to Disclose Information to the VA) and VA Form 21-4142a (General Release for Medical Provider Information to the VA. As indicated above, just a week later on March 10, 2021 the RO issued a SSOC and the Veteran’s claim was back before the Board. However, received by VA on March 3, 2021 was the Veteran’s signed VA Form 21-4142 (Authorization to Disclose Information to the VA) for records from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates. Unfortunately, this form was not associated with the Veteran’s claims file until April 20, 2021. As such, while the Board regrets the additional delays, the matter must be remanded again in order for the RO to undertake appropriate efforts to obtain these identified, potentially relevant records from Hearcare, Inc. 38 U.S.C. § 5103A; 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c). The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Obtain records of the Veteran’s treatment from Hearcare, Inc. and Associates. The Veteran’s completed VA Form 21-4142 for this private medical provider was received on March 3, 2021. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file. If reasonable efforts prove unsuccessful, the Veteran should be notified and given an opportunity to obtain the records himself. All records and/or responses received should be associated with the claims file. K. Conner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Penn, 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.