I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Following a period of hospitalization, appellant was discharged from service on May 20, 1969. He received a 100% disability rating for undifferentiated schizophrenia, effective from the day following discharge, May 21, 1969. The 100% rating was confirmed in a rating decision dated November 22, 1972, which also noted that a reexamination should take place in November 1974. R. at 10. However, there is no indication in the record of a 1974 examination or any further rating activity until an examination was requested on February 2, 1989. R. at 11. The examiner was asked to "Please expedite" and to determine "Is vet working now? How much has vet worked since 1972?" Id. The "expedited" examination took place on February 13, 1989, with the examiner noting he had reviewed the veteran's claims file but that the veteran had not been seen for compensation and pension purposes since 1972. The examiner concluded:

In summary, the veteran's current adjustment appears to be significantly better than it was in 1974. However, it would seem very unlikely that at this point in his life he could successfully go out and get a fulltime job and support his family. He hasn't worked in 20 years, has a schizophrenic diagnosis, and has a low tolerance for stress.

Diagnosis: Schizophrenic Disorder, Undifferentiated Type, in remission.

R. at 14.

Based solely upon this examination, the veteran's 100% rating was reduced to 10% on February 17, 1989; the reduction became effective on May 1, 1989. The veteran requested a hearing and submitted affidavits in support of his claim from his wife (R. at 21-22), daughter (R. at 23) and his mother (R. at 28). Essentially they testified as to the veteran's chronic inability to {2 Vet. App. 279} sleep at night, his assaultive behavior if awakened from sleep; specifically, the veteran's mother averred:

he can't eat or sleep. . . . He's had to go on nerve pills again because he's not able to work . . . He jumps up and beats the walls at night and screams. . . . He can't do anything without breaking out in sweat and gets weak and shakes all over.