Citation Nr: 22043899 Decision Date: 08/02/22 Archive Date: 08/02/22 DOCKET NO. 18-54 866 DATE: August 2, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a right hip condition is remanded. Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected hearing loss is remanded REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from July 1969 to July 1975 in the United States Navy. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2016 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. The Veteran requested a Board hearing for his claims, which was scheduled for August 2021. The Veteran did not report to the scheduled hearing and did not request that the hearing be rescheduled. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability is remanded. The Veteran indicated that his service treatment records (STRs) appear incomplete, as he received treatment for his right hip following being struck by a vehicle. However, a review of the claims file does not find that his complete STRs have been obtained. Additionally, the Board cannot make a fully-informed decision on the issue of entitlement to service connection for a right hip disability because no VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran has a right hip disability, to include right hip pain, that is etiologically related to an in-service motor vehicle accident. See McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 83-86 (2006). 2. Entitlement to an initial compensable disability rating for service-connected bilateral hearing loss is remanded. In an October 2021 statement, the Veteran asserted, through his representative, that his service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability has increased in severity since the Veteran was last examined by VA in June 2018. See, e.g., Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997). The Veteran should be provided an opportunity to report for a VA examination to ascertain the current severity and manifestations of his bilateral hearing loss disability. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Request from all appropriate source(s) a copy of any additional STRs that may exist for the Veteran, specifically any additional records detailing an incident in which the Veteran was hit by a motor vehicle during service should be sought. Efforts to obtain the evidence should be fully documented and should be discontinued only if it is concluded that the evidence sought does not exist or that further efforts to obtain the evidence would be futile. 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(c)(2). The evidence procured, if any, should be associated with the record. If no further records are available, the record should be annotated to reflect that fact and the Veteran and his representative should be notified. 2. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination for his claimed right hip disability. The examiner must review the claims file. If a diagnosis cannot be provided but the Veteran's condition manifests in symptoms that cause functional impairment, then the examiner should consider them a "disability" for the purpose of providing the requested opinion(s) below. The examiner is asked to provide a response to the following: a) Is any right hip disability at least as likely as not (likelihood is at least approximately balanced or nearly equal, if not higher) to service, including the Veteran's statements of being hit by a motor vehicle during active-duty service? The examiner is advised that the Veteran is competent to report symptoms, treatment, and injuries, and that his reports must be taken into account in formulating the requested opinions. The examiner is also reminded that the absence of documented treatment in service or thereafter is not fatal to a service connection claim, and the absence of evidence in the service treatment records is an insufficient basis, by itself, for a negative opinion. See Ledford v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 87, 89 (1992). Thus, the examiner is to consider the totality of the record, and not just the absence of clinical treatment, in weighing the Veteran's statements asserting symptomatology. The examiner must provide the rationale for all proffered opinions. If the examiner is unable to provide any required opinion, he or she should explain why. If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she shall provide a complete explanation as to why this is so. If the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information, the examiner should identify the additional information that is needed. (Continued on the next page) 3. Schedule the Veteran for an examination by an appropriate clinician to determine the current severity of his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms necessary for evaluating the Veteran's disability under the rating criteria. 4. After completing the above, and any other development as may be indicated by any response received as a consequence of the actions taken in the preceding paragraphs, the issue(s) remaining on appeal should be readjudicated based on the entirety of the evidence. If the benefit sought remains denied, the Veteran and his representative should be issued a supplemental statement of the case. An appropriate period of time should be allowed for response. Rahil Gandhi Acting 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.