Citation Nr: 18142213 Decision Date: 10/15/18 Archive Date: 10/15/18 DOCKET NO. 16-10 059 DATE: October 15, 2018 ORDER Service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving any doubt in the Veteran’s favor, tinnitus was caused by in-service noise exposure. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria to establish service connection for tinnitus have been approximated. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.326(a). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service in the United States Army from August 1969 through March 1972. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2014 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). 1. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). “To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: ‘(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service’ - the so-called ‘nexus’ requirement.” Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). Disorders diagnosed after discharge will still be service connected if all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d); see Combee v. Brown, 34 F.3d 1039, 1043 (Fed. Cir. 1994). Tinnitus is defined as a ringing in the ears, and it is a disorder that is uniquely identifiable by the senses of the person experiencing it. It is a condition that is “simple” in nature in that respect, and thus, is a disability that can be diagnosed by the person experiencing the condition. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). That is, the confirmation of the existence of tinnitus does not require any medical expertise (i.e. is not “complex” in nature), and assuming the allegations of the veteran are credible, testimonial evidence of an origin of the condition in service can be used to support a claim for service connection. As an organic disease of the nervous system, tinnitus is a “chronic disease” listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a). Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258, 275-76 (2015). Therefore, the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b) are for application. Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Where the evidence shows a “chronic disease” in service or “continuity of symptoms” after service, the disease shall be presumed to have been incurred in service. For the showing of “chronic” disease in service, there is required a combination of manifestations sufficient to identify the disease entity, and sufficient observation to establish chronicity at the time. With chronic disease as such during active service, subsequent manifestations of the same chronic disease at any later date, however remote, are service-connected unless they are clearly attributable to intercurrent causes. Generally, if a condition noted during active service is not shown to be chronic, then, a “continuity of symptoms” after service is required to establish service connection. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b). Additionally, as a chronic disease, tinnitus will be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by service if the disease becomes manifest to a compensable degree within one year from the date of service separation. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(3). As a layperson, the Veteran is competent to report that he has, and has had ringing in the ears since service. The Veteran therefore has a disability. As to the question of an in-service event, the Veteran’s Report of Separation from the Armed Forces (DD Form 214) reflects that his military occupational specialty (MOS) was aviator. The law provides that 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). As an aviator, the Veteran would have been exposed to turbine engines. Therefore, his noise exposure is recognized. While an April 2014 VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s tinnitus is not at least as likely as not related to an in-service injury, event, or disease, including his exposure to turbine engines, the Veteran stated in his January 2014 statement in support of claim that his tinnitus started while he was in the Army, but he became accustomed to the symptom. In his July 2014 notice of disagreement, the Veteran stated he first noticed tinnitus while flying helicopters in the Army. Again, the Veteran stated in his February 2016 substantive appeal (VA Form 9) that he has had tinnitus since Vietnam. The Board affords the factual doubt to the Veteran and grants the claim. Vito A. Clementi Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD S. McLendon, Associate Counsel