Citation Nr: 22010547
Decision Date: 02/23/22	Archive Date: 02/23/22

DOCKET NO. 16-33 683
DATE: February 23, 2022

REMANDED

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

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from September 1965 to September 1969.

This matter is before the Board on appeal from a March 2015 rating decision issued by a Regional Office of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge at a February 2022 Board Hearing.  

This appeal has been advanced on the docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. §20.900 (c).  

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

Where there is evidence that a Veteran's service-connected disability has worsened since his last VA examination, and the last examination is too remote to constitute a contemporaneous examination, a new examination is required.

As an initial matter, the Board acknowledges that the Veteran submitted an April 2015 private audiogram that contained Puretone charts and speech discrimination scores.  However, it was unclear whether the speech discrimination results were based upon Maryland CNC tests. 

The Veteran was last afforded a VA audiological examination in January 2015, over seven years ago.  In an April 2015 notice of disagreement and July 2016 substantive appeal, the Veteran stated that he was unable to hear out of his right ear and had difficulty hearing out of his left ear.  He also stated that he could not hear his phone ring.  These statements indicate that the Veteran's hearing loss has worsened since the most recent VA examination of record.  Thus, on remand, the Veteran should be afforded a new VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his bilateral hearing loss.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.  

 

 

H.M. WALKER

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	AK

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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.