Citation Nr: 18142059
Decision Date: 10/12/18	Archive Date: 10/12/18

DOCKET NO. 16-24 393
DATE:	October 12, 2018
ORDER
Service connection for tinnitus is granted.
FINDINGS OF FACT
The Veteran was exposed to loud noise during active service and has credibly stated that his tinnitus began during active service; there is a medical nexus between his loud noise exposure in service and his current tinnitus.  
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met.  38 U.S.C. §§ 101, 1101, 1110, 5103(a), 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.304.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran, who is the Appellant in this case, had active service from May 1996 to May 2000.  
This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA or Board) from a December 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Denver, Colorado.
The Veteran contends that he was exposed to nearly constant loud noises during active service, and that this exposure caused his tinnitus.  Specifically, he states that as an infantry officer, he was exposed to the noise of tanks, live fire, generators, and other equipment.  He has stated that he began experiencing tinnitus during active service, but that he did not report it or seek treatment for it as he thought it would go away on its own.  It has gradually worsened since active service.
His DD Form 214 shows that he worked with a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and other weapons and completed the infantry officer basic course.  Although his service treatment records are negative for any report of tinnitus, a Reference Audiogram from his service treatment records states that he was routinely exposed to hazardous noise.  
At a November 2014 VA examination, the Veteran reported constant tinnitus for many years but did not recall exactly when it first began.  The VA examiner opined that the tinnitus is less likely than not caused by or a result of military noise exposure, reasoning that the Veteran currently had normal bilateral hearing ability and showed no evidence of military noise-induced hearing loss which is associated with tinnitus.
In August 2017, the Veteran submitted an article stating that tinnitus can be perceived constantly or occasionally, and that it can have a gradual onset.  Moreover, it stated that the prevalence of tinnitus was significantly higher in individuals exposed to heavy weapons fire, such as the type of fire to which the Veteran was exposed, than in individuals exposed to the noise of smaller arms.  Further, it explained that although the prevalence of tinnitus was higher in individuals with some degree of hearing loss than with normal hearing, that was not always the case, and there were some instances where individuals developed tinnitus without hearing loss.
The Board finds that the article submitted by the Veteran refutes the rationale provided by the VA examiner in support of his unfavorable nexus opinion.  Namely, the examiner based his negative opinion on the lack of any finding of hearing loss.  However, as discussed above, the article states that tinnitus is not always accompanied by hearing loss.  
In light of the evidence of hazardous noise exposure during active service, the Veteran’s credible statements that his tinnitus began in service and has continued since service separation, as well as the lack of any other explanation for his current tinnitus, the Board has resolved reasonable doubt in his favor and finds that service connection for tinnitus is warranted.     

 
JONATHAN B. KRAMER
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	T. Sherrard, Counsel