Bill > S1582

This bill, the Improved Compensation for Hearing Loss Act of 2013, requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to report to Congress on how the VA is implementing recommendations from a 2006 Institute of Medicine report on military noise exposure and hearing loss. The report must specifically evaluate if veterans whose military jobs (military occupational specialty or MOS) are not on the official "Duty Military Occupational Specialty Noise Exposure Listing" are unfairly prevented from receiving VA benefits for hearing loss, and it will require detailed data on granted and denied claims for both listed and unlisted MOS. Additionally, the VA Secretary must explain the scientific basis for how hearing loss is rated, particularly for unilateral (one-sided) hearing loss, and why compensation isn't always provided for hearing loss severe enough to require hearing aids. The bill also mandates a report on joint VA and Department of Defense (DOD) programs aimed at preventing, detecting, and treating hearing loss in service members and veterans, including identifying goals, potential resource sharing for hearing tests, and barriers to updating a specific hearing loss registry, with recommendations for legislative or administrative changes to improve these efforts.