Citation Nr: 21032124
Decision Date: 05/25/21	Archive Date: 05/25/21

DOCKET NO. 15-13 854
DATE: May 25, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from August 1962 to September 1966.  

In March 2019, a videoconference board hearing was held before the undersigned.  A transcript of the hearing is associated with the Veteran's claims file.

In August 2019, the Board issued a decision that, in pertinent part, denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss.  The Veteran appealed that decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court), and the Board's decision was vacated pursuant to an November 2020 Order, following a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (JMR).  

Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded.

In the November 2020 JMR, the parties agreed that the September 2012 VA audiological evaluation was not sufficient for rating purposes as it did not address the significance, if any, of threshold shifts in hearing between the Veteran's examinations for entry and separation from active duty.  Additionally, it was noted the Veteran's lay testimony was not available for consideration for the examiner to make an informed opinion regarding whether there was a relationship between his current hearing loss and service.  

In compliance with the November 2020 JMR, the issue must be remanded for an additional opinion regarding any possible relationship between the Veteran's current hearing loss and his military service.  

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to service, including exposure to noise trauma of aircraft engines while on active duty.  The examiner must specifically address whether there are threshold shifts in the audiometric pure tone thresholds noted at entry from those noted at separation from service, and their significance, if any.  [It has been noted there was a downward threshold shift in hearing acuity between 500 and 1000 Hertz in both ears between entrance and separation.]  The examiner must also comment on the testimony provided by the Veteran at the March 2019 Board hearing regarding the onset of his hearing loss.  

 

 

A. ISHIZAWAR

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Joseph P. Gervasio

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.