Citation Nr: A21008368
Decision Date: 04/26/21	Archive Date: 04/26/21

DOCKET NO. 200317-87802
DATE:  April 26, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran had active military service from September 1999 to January 2000, October 2001 to September 2002, and January 2003 to July 2004. 

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2020 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). That rating decision effectuated a February 2020 Order from the Board which held that service connection for bilateral hearing loss was warranted. The rating decision granted service connection and assigned a noncompensable (zero percent) rating. In March 2020, the Veteran appealed to the Board and elected the direct review option. 

Increased Rating – Bilateral Hearing Loss

The Board finds that a remand is warranted to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error.

The Veteran maintains that his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability warrants an initial compensable rating. In this regard, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in May 2015. On page 5 of the report, the examiner explicitly states, “Today’s test results were inconsistent and unreliable. These results SHOULD NOT be used for rating purposes.”

Private medical records are also included in the claims file. Those documents include audiology testing reports from December 2019; however, those examinations do not include the required Maryland CNC testing for rating purposes. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. Accordingly, a remand is warranted to afford the Veteran a current audiology evaluation as the medical evidence currently of record is not sufficient to determine the true severity of the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss disability picture and additional development should have been conducted prior to a decision being rendered in this case.

This matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the current level of severity of all impairment resulting from his bilateral hearing loss disability. The claims file must be made available to and reviewed by the examiner. Any indicated tests and studies must be performed. The examiner must provide all information required for rating purposes.

 

 

Kristin Haddock

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	E. Sutherell, 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.