Citation Nr: 22016105 Decision Date: 03/21/22 Archive Date: 03/21/22 DOCKET NO. 19-37 055 DATE: March 21, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran had active service with the United States Marine Corps from December 1971 to December 1973 and from April 1981 to September 1983. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In August 2021, the Veteran testified during a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. The Board notes that the issue of service connection for COPD was discussed at the Veteran's June 2018 hearing. However, the record does not indicate that this issue was certified to the Board. A review of the record shows that after the statement of the case issued on this claim in January 2020, an appeal was not perfected (the Veteran did not appeal this issue). Therefore, this issue is not on appeal to the Board and will not be addressed in this decision. As a preliminary matter, it is valuable to note that the Veteran has already been found to be 100 percent disabled by VA. The Veteran was awarded a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to service-connected disabilities effective March 16, 2017. Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss. The Veteran contends that his left ear hearing loss is caused by or related to acoustic trauma during service. The Veteran is service connected for right ear hearing loss, effective September 9, 2019, and tinnitus, effective March 16, 2017. Exposure to hazardous noise during service has been conceded. The RO denied the Veteran's claim for left ear hearing loss because the Veteran's records are negative for audiometric findings that show that the Veteran's left ear hearing impairment met the auditory thresholds necessary to be considered a disability for VA purposes. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hertz are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. VA audiological examinations performed in August 2017 and September 2019 do not show that the Veteran has a right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes. Neither examination showed speech recognition scores less than 94 percent or any auditory thresholds of 26 decibels or greater. However, on review, it appears that pertinent VA treatment records may still be outstanding. At the August 2021 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he had recently received an updated hearing test from VA. The Veteran indicated that he was provided a new hearing test because his left ear hearing had recently gotten considerably worse. The Veteran reported that the audiologist had informed him that he had some damage to something in his left ear. These records have not been associated with the Veteran's case file. The most recent VA treatment records contained in the case file are from December 2019. As such, a remand is necessary to obtain the outstanding treatment records regarding the Veteran's claimed left ear hearing loss, including the reported audiological testing. If the RO is unable to locate a recent audiological examination sufficient for assessing the Veteran's left ear hearing loss under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, the Veteran should be afforded a new audiological examination to assess the current severity of his left ear hearing loss. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's updated VA treatment records and associate them with the evidence of record. The request for records should include a search for recent audiological examinations and treatment. If possible, the Veteran himself should submit these records (if any), and any other new treatment for this problem, himself, to expedite the case. Any assistance on this issue would be appreciated. 2. If necessary, schedule the Veteran for a VA audiological examination to determine whether the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss as defined by VA regulations, and if so, whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that this disability had its onset in service or is otherwise related to active service. A complete rationale for any opinions expressed should be provided. The report should set forth all complaints, findings, and diagnoses relating to the Veteran's hearing loss and provide a rationale for all conclusions reached. If the requested opinion cannot be rendered without resorting to speculation, the examiner must state whether the need to speculate is caused by a deficiency in the state of general medical knowledge, i.e., no one could respond given medical science and the known facts, or by a deficiency in the record or the examiner, i.e., additional facts are required, or the examiner does not have the needed knowledge or training. 3. After completion of the aforementioned, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) should readjudicate the Veteran's service connection claim. If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted, then the AOJ should provide the Veteran with a supplemental statement of the case and afford him the appropriate opportunity to respond thereto. Thereafter, the case must be returned to the Board for further appellate review. John J. Crowley Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board E. VanValkenburg 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.