Citation Nr: 22017126 Decision Date: 03/24/22 Archive Date: 03/24/22 DOCKET NO. 17-45 898 DATE: March 24, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 20 percent disabling for service-connected bilateral hearing loss, to include on an extraschedular basis, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from May 1970 to January 1972. He also had additional service of an unverified nature in the Army Reserve. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a May 2017 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran's appeal was previously before the Board in April 2019 and October 2021, when it was determined that remand was necessary to ensure that VA fulfilled its duty to assist the Veteran in substantiating his appeal. The Board's prior remand directives and the subsequent actions of the RO will be discussed below. Entitlement to an increased rating in excess of 20 percent disabling for bilateral hearing loss is remanded. The Board's October 2021 remand directed VA to obtain any outstanding private and VA medical treatment records. While VA requested from the Veteran a VA Form 21-4142a, General Release for Medical Provider Information to the Department of Veterans Affairs, outstanding VA treatment records were not associated with the record. The record reflects that the most recent VA treatment records are from January 2018. Thus, a remand is necessary to ensure that there has been substantial compliance with the October 2021 Board remand. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998) (holding that a remand confers on the claimant, as a matter of law, the right to compliance with the remand order). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran's VA treatment records for the period from January 2018 to the Present. 2. Thereafter, the AOJ must request that the Veteran be scheduled for a VA audiological examination, to include pure tone audiometry testing and a controlled speech discrimination test using the Maryland CNC word list. Auditory thresholds in decibels, for the right and left ears, for the frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz, and speech recognition scores, for the right and left ears, using the Maryland CNC word list, must be provided. The claims folder must be made available for review by the examiner in conjunction with the examination. The examiner must provide findings as to the impact of the Veteran's hearing loss disability on his daily functioning, social functioning, and whether such caused (or would cause) marked interference with his former occupation as a warehouseman. *In addressing the above, the examiner must elicit from the Veteran the duties of his former occupation and comment on whether the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss would interfere with his ability to safely function in such a work setting. The examiner is also requested to elicit from the Veteran whether his service-connected bilateral hearing loss manifests in symptoms other than decreased hearing acuity, to include ear pain, fullness, dizziness, and draining. Lastly, the examiner must comment on whether the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss resulted in frequent hospitalizations during the appeal period (since March 2016). If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, this should be so stated along with supporting rationale. In so doing, the examiner shall explain whether the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information, or that he or she has exhausted the limits of current medical knowledge in providing an answer to the particular question. 3. If the VA examination report reflects that the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss is manifested by symptoms other than decreased hearing acuity and/or resulted in or would have resulted in marked interference with his former occupations as a farmer or warehouseman, the AOJ must refer the Veteran's appeal to the Undersecretary for Benefits or the Director of Compensation Service for an advisory opinion concerning the assignment of an increased evaluation on an extraschedular basis under 38 C.F.R. § 3.321 (b). The advisory opinion must include a complete analysis of the facts specific to the Veteran's case, as reflected in the file, as applied to the controlling statutes, regulations, and case law. 4. Thereafter, the AOJ must readjudicate the Veteran's appealed issues in light of the totality of evidence of record. If any benefit sought is not granted to the fullest extent, the AOJ must provide the Veteran and his representative with a copy of the readjudication and afford them an appropriate period to respond. KELLI A. KORDICH Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Imam, 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.