Citation Nr: 18140014 Decision Date: 10/02/18 Archive Date: 10/02/18 DOCKET NO. 15-12 118 DATE: October 2, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, his tinnitus began in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1111, 1112, 1131, 1153, 1154, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active military service from August 1977 to August 1980. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a December 2013 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Regional Office (RO) in Boise, Idaho. In May 2018, the Veteran testified at a videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of that hearing is of record. Legal Criteria Establishing service connection generally requires medical evidence or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of the following: (1) A current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) nexus between the claimed in-service disease and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed.Cir.2009); Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed.Cir.2007); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247 (1999); Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498 (1995), aff’d per curiam, 78 F.3d 604 (Fed.Cir.1996) (table). Service connection may also be awarded on a presumptive basis for certain chronic diseases, to include tinnitus (an organic disease of the nervous system), listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a), that manifest to a degree of 10 percent within one year of service separation. Id. §§ 3.303(b), 3.307. Service connection may be awarded on the basis of continuity of symptomatology for those conditions listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a) if a claimant demonstrates (1) that a condition was noted during service; (2) evidence of post-service continuity of the same symptomatology; and (3) medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of a nexus between the present disability and the post-service symptomatology. See Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 307 (2007); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b). In each case where service connection for any disability is being sought, due consideration shall be given to the places, types, and circumstances of such Veteran’s service as shown by such Veteran’s service record, the official history of each organization in which such Veteran served, such Veteran’s medical records, and all pertinent medical and lay evidence. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a). Analysis The Veteran contends that he has tinnitus which began in service. The Board concludes, for the reasons noted below and in giving the benefit of the doubt to the Veteran, that his current diagnosis of tinnitus began during active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). The Veteran’s military occupational specialty in service was as a machinist’s mate in the Navy, and he served aboard the USS Ranger, an aircraft carrier. Thus, the Board will assume that he was exposed to some loud noises as that is consistent with the circumstances of his service. The Veteran testified under oath at the May 2018 Board hearing that he had tinnitus for a long time but did “not know there was such a thing as tinnitus” when he was in the military, and that it was not until approximately 15 to 18 years ago that he realized that he could file a claim for service connection for it. In his VA Form 9, dated in March 2015, the Veteran stated that he has experienced tinnitus since service but “at first it was not too severe, over the years my tinnitus has progressively worsened until it became so significant that I filed my claim.” The Veteran is competent to report both the onset of his symptoms and a continuity of symptoms to the present because tinnitus is a disability that is capable of observation by the person experiencing it, and generally is not capable of objective verification. See Charles v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 370 (2002) (noting that, because tinnitus is “subjective,” its existence is generally determined by whether the Veteran claims to experience it). One way of substantiating a claim of service connection for tinnitus is by showing that the claimed disability became manifest in service and has persisted since that time. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (b). The Board acknowledges that a November 2013 VA examination report reflects that the Veteran reported that the onset of bilateral constant tinnitus was ten years earlier, or approximately twenty years post separation from service, which the examiner felt was too late an onset to be related to service. However, there was no notation as to the onset of intermittent tinnitus. The Board also notes that January 2014 correspondence from Dr. Corrigan (The Permanente Medical Group, Inc.) reflects that the Veteran reported “bilateral tinnitus for a long time – steady for about 8 years and intermittent for up to 15 years.” Dr. Corrigan stated that “[a]s there can be a delayed effect from noise exposure causing tinnitus, I agree it is possible that there is a connection between his noise exposure while in service and his current tinnitus problem.” This onset is different from that reported by the Veteran to VA. However, it is possible that the clinician was mistaken, and, as the Veteran stated in writing to the Board that he had tinnitus since service, the Board will accept that statement. The claims file includes a June 2018 report from Hearing Services of Antioch (M.J. Garnett) in which the audiologist opined that it is as likely as not that the Veteran’s constant tinnitus is due to his active duty service. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board will grant service connection for tinnitus. M. C. GRAHAM Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals