Citation Nr: 21040118 Decision Date: 07/02/21 Archive Date: 07/02/21 DOCKET NO. 16-30 728 DATE: July 2, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for left ear is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from November 1985 to October 1989. The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a hearing before the undersigned in July 2019. The Board remanded this issue for additional development in July 2019. Entitlement to service connection for left ear is remanded. The Veteran seeks service connection for hearing loss, left ear. See December 2019 VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of Claim. Specifically, the Veteran asserts he suffered acoustic trauma as a result of being exposed to high decibel noise over a period of time during service. Id. The Board remanded this issue for additional development, to include a VA examination in July 2019. The October 2020 VA examiner provided a negative nexus opinion; however, the examiner did not acknowledge or discuss the Veteran's statements and buddy statements which were submitted prior to the VA examination. See July 2016 Buddy Statement; December 2019 VA Form 21-4138, Statement in Support of Claim. Additionally, the VA examiner did not address the Veteran's April 1989 STRs which show the Veteran was treated for earache and "ear problems" with irrigation. See April 1989 STR. Subsequent to the October 2020 VA examination, in the June 2021 Appellate Brief, the Veteran raised, for the first time, the fact sheet from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/health/hearing/NoiseInducedHearingLoss.pdf). The Veteran and his representative argue that this factsheet shows that when individuals are exposed to loud noise over a long period of time, they may slowly start to lose their hearing. See June 2021 Appellate Brief. Consequently, a remand is warranted to obtain an addendum opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Notify the Veteran that he may submit lay statements from himself and from other individuals who have first-hand knowledge, and/or were contemporaneously informed of his in-service and post-service problems hearing in his left ear. The Veteran should be provided an appropriate amount of time to submit this lay evidence. 2. Obtain an addendum opinion to determine the onset, nature and likely etiology of his claimed hearing loss, left ear. If an audiological examination is deemed necessary, schedule a hearing examination (or telework interview, review of the record, etc.). The examiner must provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any current hearing loss was incurred during the Veteran's period of service or is the result of exposure to loud noise during his periods of service. In providing the opinion, the VA examiner must also acknowledge and address the Veteran's lay statements and buddy statements, along with the factsheet submitted in June 2021. Additionally, the examiner must acknowledge and discuss the Veteran's April 1989 STRs that show he was treated for treated for earache and "ear problems" with irrigation. In offering this opinion, please discuss the impact of the Veteran's in-service acoustic trauma on the hair cells in his cochlea, and state whether it is at least as likely as not that his hearing loss occurred sooner or progressed to a greater degree of severity than it otherwise would have, as a result of his in-service acoustic trauma. The opinion must be supported by a complete rationale. STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Jacquelynn M. Jordan, 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.