Citation Nr: 21041572 Decision Date: 07/09/21 Archive Date: 07/09/21 DOCKET NO. 16-12 170 DATE: July 9, 2021 REMANDED The issue of entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The issue of entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service from November 1967 to March 1970. The procedural history of this case has been set forth in the prior action in this appeal. As such, it will only be repeated herein as needed to explain the state of the matters currently before the Board. In a June 2019 decision, the Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. Thereafter, the Veteran filed an appeal to the United Stated Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court). and in July 2020, the Veteran's representative and VA's General Counsel filed a Joint Motion for Partial Remand (Joint Motion) to vacate the Board's decision insofar as it had denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus and remand the case. The Court granted the Joint Motion that same month and the case was thereafter returned to the Board. In the instant case, the Veteran has asserted that his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were due to his active service. In March 2016, he reported that these conditions were due to being exposed to gun fire and explosives during his active service. In an April 2019 Appellate Brief, the Veteran's representative submitted two medical articles regarding degrees of hearing loss. The Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) do not show any complaints, treatment, or diagnoses of hearing loss or tinnitus during his active service. At his January 1970 separation physical, he had a normal examination of his ears and had normal hearing on audiometric testing. The Veteran's military records show that his military occupation was an ammunition apprentice. At the time of a July 1970 VA examination, the Veteran's ears were normal. The Veteran's treatment records then show that he denied having hearing loss and tinnitus in May 1979 and July 2003. In August 2003, he denied having tinnitus. In April 2011, June 2012, and October 2012, he denied having hearing problems. In July 2013, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination. However, in their July 2020 Joint Motion, the parties agreed that the VA examination and opinion were not adequate due to insufficient rational. Accordingly, in order to comply with the terms of the parties' Joint Motion, the Board finds it necessary to remand the claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus in order to afford the Veteran a new VA examination and opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain any outstanding VA treatment records or private treatment records regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. Then, schedule the Veteran for a VA audiology examination. The examiner should provide an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or better probability) that any bilateral hearing loss and/or tinnitus, either began during or was otherwise caused by the Veteran's active service, to include any military noise exposure. The examiner must provide a detailed rationale for all conclusions reached. The examiner should specifically comment on the clinical significance, if any, of the Veteran's hearing acuity during his active service, the Veteran's treatment records after his active service showing that he denied having any hearing loss or tinnitus, and the medical articles referenced in the April 2019 Appellate Brief. The examiner should also specifically address the Veteran's lay statement regarding his in-service military noise exposure and the continuity of symptomology. KRISTIN E. NEILSON Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Berryman, 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.