Citation Nr: 22013382 Decision Date: 03/09/22 Archive Date: 03/09/22 DOCKET NO. 17-16 697A DATE: March 9, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1978 to May 1980. The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in March 2021. A transcript is associated with the claims file. The Board previously remanded the claim, most recently in August 2021. There has not been substantial compliance with the remand directives; another remand is required. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The claim must be remanded again because the October 2021 VA opinion is inadequate. The October 2021 VA examination included findings that did not show a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes and the examiner's commnet that speech discrimination could not be tested. The VA examiner referred to April 2021 audiological testing that did show hearing loss fo VA compensation purposes but discounted those results in part, due to the Veteran's behavior. The VA examiner made conclusory statements about the specific results of the private testing, but without adequate rationale, the Board is unable to determine the validity of either opinion. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: Schedule the Veteran for an audiological examination to determine the current nature and likely etiology of any diagnosed hearing loss disability. Copies of all pertinent records must be made available to the examiner for review. After conducting all appropriate testing, the examiner must answer the following: (a) Does the Veteran have a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes? In answering this, the examiner must specifically discuss the following: (i) the 3/29/01 Beltone Audiogram; (ii) the 4/7/21 testing by the West Tennessee Hearing and Speech Center, and; (iii) the findings of the 10/5/21 VA examination. If the examiner questions the findings of the private testing, the examiner must explain in detail. (b) If the answer to (a) is yes, it is at least as likely as not that the hearing loss active-duty service, specifically conceded in-service military noise exposure. A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions. If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resort to speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is due to a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge; the examiner's own expertise, or; whether additional facts are required and note what, if any, additional evidence would permit such an opinion to be made. M.E. LARKIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board P.S. McLeod 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.