King: Existence of higher schedular rating is irrelevant to extraschedular analysis

King v. Shulkin, 29 Vet.App. 174 (Dec. 21, 2017)

HELD: “[T]he availability of higher scheduler ratings plays no role in an extraschedular analysis and [] it is inappropriate for the Board to deny extraschedular referral on this basis.” 

SUMMARY: Dudley King is service connected for hearing loss, rated 0%. He appeals for a compensable rating. VA examiners noted “significant effects” on occupation, “poor social interactions,” “hearing difficulty,” “balance problems,” and “dizziness.” One VA examiner summarized the effect of his hearing loss on his life and his work as “difficulty hearing.” 

At a Board hearing, he testified that he could not hear the phone ring; he needed to turn up the volume on the television, which made his wife leave the room; he could not hear bird sounds; and he got angry at having to ask people to repeat themselves. The Board remanded for a new examination, and the subsequent VA examiner stated that his hearing loss did not impact his life or work. The Board denied a compensable rating and extraschedular referral because it found that the rating criteria “reasonably describe” his disability and “provide[] for higher ratings for more severe symptoms.”

He appealed to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The Court framed the issues as (1) whether the rating criteria adequately contemplated the function effects of his hearing loss such that extraschedular referral was not required and (2) whether the availability of a higher schedularrating is relevant to the extraschedular analysis. 

The Court began its analysis by explaining the relevant law regarding schedular and extraschedular ratings. The Court emphasized that “[t]he goal of the entire rating process is to appropriately compensate veterans. The schedular and extraschedular analyses are just different means of doing so.” 

The Court described the “three-part inquiry” in determining whether referral for extraschedular consideration is warranted. The first element of 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b) –whether the evidence “presents such an exceptional disability picture” that the schedular ratings are inadequate –requires VA to “compare a veteran’s specific symptoms and their severity with those contemplated by the plain language of the rating schedule.” With respect to this element, the Court noted that “impact on employment is not a symptom.”

If the Board determines that the symptoms or their severity are not contemplated by the rating schedule, the second step requires the Board to determine whether the exceptional disability picture exhibits “other related factors,” such as “marked interference with employment or frequent periods of hospitalization.” In this case, the Board determined that extraschedular referral was not warranted because it found the rating criteria reasonably describe Mr. King’s disability and provide for “higher ratings for more severe symptoms.” It was this second rationale that caught the Court’s attention. 

As the Court recently held in Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet.App. 366 (2017), the hearing loss ratings “contemplate the functional effects of decreased hearing and difficulty understanding speech,” but do not “contemplate all functional impairment due to a claimant’s hearing loss.” The Court in Doucette “provided a non-exhaustive list of functional effects” that are outside the rating schedule – such as “pain, dizziness, recurrent loss of balance, or social isolation” – and “acknowledged the existence of effects that would be inherently outside the rating schedule,”

The Court held that ”[t]he availability of higher schedular ratings plays no role in an extraschedular analysis and [ ] it is inappropriate for the Board to deny extraschedular referral on this basis.” The Court explained that the Board’s logic in such a denial “would functionally invalidate § 3.321(b)(1) entirely,” and provided the following example: Assume a disability is rated 30% for symptoms A and B; and 50% for symptoms A, B, X, and Z. What happens to a veteran who’s rated 30% - but has symptoms A, B, and X, but not Z? “Under the Board’s logic, no matter how significantly that veteran’s earning ability were impaired,” VA would be able to deny extraschedular referral just because the rating schedule provided for a higher schedular rating. The Court stated that “[t]his example is precisely the situation § 3.321(b)(1) was created to address.”

The Court further clarified that the holding of King is not limited to hearing loss claims. “Section 3.321 is applicable to all claims.”

FULL DECISION

Rossy: Extraschedular consideration for hearing loss not warranted

Rossy v. Shulkin, 29 Vet.App. 142 (Dec. 13, 2017)

HELD: When the only hearing loss problem alleged by a claimant is “difficulty understanding conversations,” referral for extraschedular consideration is not warranted since that complaint is type of symptom and functional effect that is contemplated and compensated by VA’s rating schedule. 

SUMMARY: Jose Rossy served in the U.S. Army from 1949 to 1952. More than 50 years later, he applied for and was granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss, rated 0%. His appeal for a compensable rating was stayed at the Court, pending the outcome of Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet.App. 366 (2017). 

In Doucette, the Court held that the rating criteria for hearing loss contemplate and compensate for “the functional effects of hearing loss, namely difficulty understanding speech and the inability to hear sounds in various contexts.” Doucetteleft open “the possibility that extraschedular consideration for hearing loss might be warranted by other symptoms or functional effects,” but held that “extraschedular referral is not reasonably raised when complaints of difficulty hearing are the only complaints of record.” 

Because Mr. Rossy’s complaints were “within the type of symptoms and functional effects contemplated and compensated by VA’s schedular rating criteria,” the Court affirmed the Board’s denial of referral for extraschedular consideration. 

The Court also concluded that extraschedular referral was not warranted based on the combined effects of Mr. Rossy’s various service-connected conditions because this issue was not reasonably raised by the record or the appellant. 

FULL DECISION

Doucette: RATING HEARING LOSS

Doucette v. Shulkin, docket no. 15-2818 (Mar. 6, 2017)

HELD: “[T]he rating criteria for hearing loss contemplate the functional effects of decreased hearing and difficulty understanding speech in an everyday work environment,” but do not explicitly contemplate “other functional effects, such as dizziness, vertigo, ear pain, etc.” – and the Board does not have to assess whether referral for extraschedular consideration is warranted unless this is raised by the claimant or the evidence of record.  

SUMMARY: Veteran Richard Doucette appealed the Board’s denial of a compensable disability rating for his hearing loss, arguing that the Board misapplied 38 C.F.R. § 3.321(b)(1) and failed to adequately explain its determination that referral for extraschedular consideration was not warranted.

The Court first noted that VA’s “rating criteria for hearing loss, unlike a majority of the conditions in VA’s rating schedule, do not list any specific symptoms or functional effects.” *3 (citing 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.85, 4.86). Instead, VA rates this condition based on a “mechanical application of a veteran’s audiometric testing results to a rating table.” The testing includes puretone audiometry and speech discrimination that “measure a veteran’s ability to hear certain frequencies at specific volumes and to understand speech.” *4. VA’s rating tables “correlate the results of audiometric testing with varying degrees of disability.” The Court thus held that VA’s “rating criteria for hearing loss contemplate the functional effects of decreased hearing and difficulty understanding speech in an everyday work environment, as these are precisely the effects that VA’s audiometric tests are designed to measure.” *4-5.

The Court determined, however, that the rating criteria do not account for other functional effects, “such as dizziness, vertigo, ear pain, etc.” – and further held that the rating schedule did not explicitly contemplate “effects other than difficulty hearing or understanding speech.” *5. Nevertheless, the Court found that referral for extraschedular consideration was not warranted in all hearing loss cases, and that the “Board is only obligated to discuss extraschedular referral for hearing loss when there is evidence in the record which reveals that the appellant’s hearing loss presents exceptional or unusual circumstances or where the appellant has asserted that a schedular rating is inadequate.” *6-7.

The Court reiterated that it was not suggesting “that the rating criteria contemplate all functional impairment due to a claimant’s hearing loss.” The Court pointed out that “a hearing loss claimant could provide evidence of numerous symptoms,” such as “ear pain, dizziness, recurrent loss of balance, or social isolation due to difficulties communicating, and the Board would be required to explain whether the rating criteria contemplate those functional effects.” *8.

The Court found that Mr. Doucette’s hearing difficulties were “contemplated by the schedular rating criteria for hearing loss” and that he had not asserted that his schedular rating was inadequate. The Court thus affirmed the Board’s determination that referral for extraschedular consideration was not warranted. *9.

In dicta, the Court commented that the rating criteria for hearing loss “has led to confusion and inconsistent results for both veterans suffering from hearing loss and adjudicators evaluating their claims,” and questioned “whether it is time for VA to revisit this portion of the rating schedule.” *11.

Judge Schoelen dissented. Although she agreed with the majority that referral for extraschedular consideration was not warranted unless it was raised by the claimant or the record, she believes that the rating criteria for hearing loss “are inadequate to contemplate a veteran’s functional effects and entire disability picture.” She stated that “[b]ecause no symptoms are listed in the rating schedule for hearing loss, there is no way to adequately compare the ‘level of severity and symptomatology’ to the rating criteria,” which is required in determining whether referral for extraschedular consideration is warranted. She pointed out the Court’s prior holding that stated “[u]nlike the rating schedule for hearing loss, § 3.321(b) does not rely exclusively on objective test results to determine whether a referral for an extraschedular rating is warranted.” * 13 (quoting Martinak v. Nicholson, 21 Vet.App. 447, 455 (2007).  

Advocacy note: Even though VA is required by law to construe a claimant’s submissions liberally and assist in developing a claim – and even though VA adjudicators are required to understand the intricacies of VA law and its rating schedule – this decision emphasizes (or maybe even adds to?) the claimant’s burden in establishing entitlement to an appropriate disability rating. One significant flaw in this decision is that it presumes that claimants understand the meaning of “referral for extraschedular consideration” and how to request it, which is a pretty big presumption to impose on claimants seeking benefits in an allegedly claimant-friendly system. In light of this decision, claimants should clearly identify all symptoms related to hearing loss – and, if the rating schedule is not adequately reflecting the level of disability, explain why and request referral for extraschedular consideration.

FULL DECISION