BVA9503093 
DOCKET NO.  93-13 254     )       DATE
          )
          )

On appeal from the decision of the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Denver,
Colorado

THE ISSUES

1.  Entitlement to service connection for rheumatic heart
disease.

2.  Entitlement to an increased (compensable) disability
evaluation for a deviated nasal septum.

REPRESENTATION

Appellant represented by: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States

WITNESS AT HEARING ON APPEAL

Appellant

ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD

Mark J. Swiatek, Counsel

REMAND

The veteran had active service from February 1945 to December
1948.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board)
from a December 1992 decision from the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Denver, Colorado.

At an April 1993 hearing, the veteran testified regarding his
breathing difficulty.  However, the record does not contain any
clinical findings referable to the deviated nasal septum to allow
for an informed decision regarding the rating of the disability.

The duty to assist the veteran in the development of the claim
includes obtaining contemporaneous and thorough medical
evaluations and relevant treatment records to insure that a
decision is an informed one.  In view of the foregoing, it is the
opinion of the Board that further development, as indicated
below, is desirable.  Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the RO
for the following actions:

1.  The veteran should be contacted and
asked to provide information regarding VA
and non VA treatment that he has received
recently for his deviated nasal septum.
After obtaining any necessary release
authorization, the RO should obtain all
records identified and associate them with
the claims folder.

2.  Thereafter, the veteran should be
scheduled for an examination by a
specialist in ear, nose and throat
disorders, if available, to determine the
current severity of the deviated nasal
septum.  All studies deemed indicated
should be accomplished.  The claims folder
must be made available to the examiner
prior to the examination.

3.  The RO should then readjudicate the
claim for an increased rating for a
deviated nasal septum.

If the benefit sought on appeal is not granted to the
satisfaction of the veteran, a supplemental statement of the case
should be issued and the veteran and his representative provided
the appropriate period to respond.  Thereafter, the case should
be returned to the Board for further consideration, if otherwise
in order.  By this REMAND, the Board intimates no opinion as to
the final outcome warranted.  No action is required of the
veteran until he is notified by the RO.  The Board has deferred a
decision in the matter of  service connection for rheumatic heart
disease until the action ordered above has been completed.

          GARY L. GICK
          Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals

The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, ___
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to be
assigned to an individual member of the Board for a deter-
mination.  This proceeding has been assigned to an individual
member of the Board.

Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991), only a decision of the
Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to the United States
Court of Veterans Appeals.  This action has been taken in
accordance with the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 303, 108 Stat. 4645, ___ (1994), and is in
the nature of a preliminary order and does not constitute a
decision of the Board on the merits of your appeal.  38 C.F.R.
§ 20.1100(b) (1993).