Citation Nr: 21030104
Decision Date: 05/17/21	Archive Date: 05/17/21

DOCKET NO. 17-10 852
DATE: May 17, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Army from January 1956 to January 1958.

This matter comes before the Board of Veteran's Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).

In January 2021, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim for further development.  This matter is now returned to the Board for further appellate review.

Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss

The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is currently assigned a noncompensable rating.  The Veteran seeks an increased rating.  See Form 21-526, October 2014.

Most recently, in January 2021, the Board remanded the Veteran's claim so that a copy of the February 2018 VA audiological testing results from the McClellan Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) could be associated with the claims file.  A February 2018 audiological record shows audiological testing was performed, but only a summary of the pure tone thresholds is provided in the CAPRI record.

Subsequently, additional VA treatment records (CAPRI) were associated with the claims file from the Northern California VA Health Care System.  The records include the same February 9, 2018 audiology consultation record from the McClellan CBOC that only shows a summary of the pure tone threshold results, which was already associated with the claims file at the time of the last Board remand.

The Board acknowledges that in January 2021, the RO requested the missing record from the McClellan CBOC.  A January 2021 negative response states that the Release of Information (ROI) office at the Martinez VA medical center found no record of treatment for that date of service (February 9, 2018).  See Brief, May 2021.  However, there is a record on file that testing and treatment were performed this date, just that not all test data is shown in the Capri entry.  It is unclear, however, whether any search for the records at the McClellan CBOC was ever performed.  Therefore, the claim should be remanded so that the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) can request a copy of the audiological testing results dated on February 9, 2018, from the McClellan CBOC (i.e., the results for pure tone thresholds in both ears at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 hertz).

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1.  Contact the McClellan CBOC audiology clinic and request a copy of the audiogram and audiological test results dated on February 9, 2018.  

Ask the McClellan CBOC's search to include, but not be limited to, a search of "Deliverex and Vista Display" for imaging of audio results.  See, e.g., CAPRI, received January 14, 2021 at p.138.

These test results should include the results of pure tone threshold testing at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 hertz in both ears for rating purposes.

Note that the CAPRI records in the claims file include an audiology clinic record from the McClellan CBOC dated February 9, 2018, but this record only includes a summary of the pure tone threshold test results. 

 

 

J.W. FRANCIS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Juliano, 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.