Citation Nr: 21031902 Decision Date: 05/24/21 Archive Date: 05/24/21 DOCKET NO. 10-17 864 DATE: May 24, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for right ear hearing loss prior to March 13, 2015, and for bilateral hearing loss thereafter is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 2003 to November 2003, and from June 2006 to June 2007. This case is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2009 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) rating decision. In that rating decision, the RO denied entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss and granted service connection for right ear hearing loss, evaluated as noncompensably disabling, effective from July 4, 2008. The Veteran timely appealed that rating decision, and in September 2012, the claim was remanded for further development and adjudicative action. During the pendency of the appeal, an April 2018 rating decision granted the claim for entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss, and assigned a 0 percent disability rating effective from March 13, 2015. The appeal returned to the Board, and in October 2019, the Board again remanded it for further development; it now returns for further appellate review. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for right ear hearing loss prior to March 13, 2015, and for bilateral hearing loss thereafter is remanded. Pursuant to the October 2019 Board Remand directives, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination for hearing loss to determine the current severity of his hearing loss in each ear. Such was necessary due to the passage of time since the Veteran's previous VA hearing loss examination and also in light of the Veteran's contentions that his hearing loss had worsened since his most recent examination. The Veteran underwent the requested VA examination in December 2019. The examiner measured pure tone thresholds but determined that the speech reception threshold and the three-frequency average of pure tone thresholds were not compatible because speech reception thresholds and bone conduction scores "display a significant air-bone gap with Type "A" tympanogram (unless otosclerosis is present, these responses are non-organic indicative)." Thus, the examiner indicated that the pure tone test results are not valid for rating purposes. The examiner also conducted speech discrimination testing which, when compared to prior private audiometric testing, suggested a worsening in bilateral hearing. See July 2016 private audiogram. Moreover, a comparison to the July 2016 audiogram suggested significant worsening in hearing based on pure tone thresholds. The examiner further discussed the functional impact of the bilateral hearing loss, noting that the left ear testing results appeared "beyond normal progression," but that the right ear had not shown a similar degradation. In sum, the examiner appears to have conducted a thorough examination. The examination report also appears to show, when viewed in the context of the other audiometric testing in the record, that the hearing loss has worsened. However, the examiner specifically noted that the pure tone testing results were not valid for rating purposes. The examiner did not indicate the cause of this, to include whether this was the result of malingering on the Veteran's part or otherwise. Notably, the record does not appear to implicate such. Without recent and valid pure tone threshold testing results upon which to determine the appropriate disability rating for the bilateral hearing loss, fairness dictates that the Veteran be afforded another examination in hopes that valid scores might be recorded and the current severity of the Veteran's hearing loss might be ascertained. To the extent that the claim includes a period on appeal for which only the severity of the right ear hearing loss is at issue, that issue is inextricably intertwined with the issue of entitlement to an increased disability rating for bilateral hearing loss from March 13, 2015, onward and, as such, must also be remanded. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for a VA hearing loss examination with an audiologist to determine the current severity of the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss. The examiner should conduct both pure tone threshold testing and speech discrimination testing. If the examiner is unable to conduct either test, the examiner should thoroughly explain why such testing cannot be completed. If the examiner determines that any testing results are not valid for rating purposes, the examiner should thoroughly explain why that is so. Such discussion should include, if applicable, a finding as to whether any testing results appear to be affected by malingering, or any other form of misrepresentation as to the current extent of the bilateral hearing loss, by the Veteran. M. M. Celli Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board B. KAYS HUKILL 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.