Citation Nr: 18143276 Decision Date: 10/18/18 Archive Date: 10/18/18 DOCKET NO. 16-07 218 DATE: October 18, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT During his service, the Veteran suffered acoustic trauma and experienced tinnitus which continues to the present. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from January 2005 to June 2010. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2011 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Winston Salem, North Carolina. As an initial matter, the Board notes that the Veteran’s substantive appeal (VA Form 9) specifically identified the issue of service connection for tinnitus as the only issue the Veteran intended to appeal, notwithstanding that the Notice of Disagreement filed by the Veteran contested more than this issue. Only the denial of service connection for tinnitus has been timely appealed, and so only that issue will be adjudicated herein. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 20.200, 20.202. The Veteran declined a hearing before the Board. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.103, 20.700(a). The Veteran asserts that he experiences tinnitus which began during and was caused by service. Service connection may be established for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in the line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110. That an injury or disease occurred in service is not enough; there must be disability resulting from that injury or disease. Service connection may also be granted for any injury or disease diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease or injury was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). To show a chronic disease in service requires evidence of a combination of manifestations sufficient to identify the disease entity, and sufficient observation to establish chronicity at the time. Organic diseases of the nervous system, such as tinnitus, Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258, 260 (2015), are considered to be chronic diseases for VA compensation purposes, and thus if chronicity in service is not shown, the claim may still be supported by showing a continuity of symptoms after discharge. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303(b), 3.309; Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2013). In addition, for veterans who have served 90 days or more of active service during a war period or after December 31, 1946, certain chronic disabilities, including organic diseases of the nervous system, are presumed to have been incurred in service if they manifested to a compensable degree within one year of separation from service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. The Veteran specialized as an aviation mechanic, as reflected in his service records. He stated both in writing and to his VA examiner that he was present on the air field and worked with diesel engines and turbine engines. He recounts that his hearing protection could not be worn on the job. He states that his ears have been ringing since his service and that the military has been his only exposure to high levels of noise. He reports that he continues to experience ringing in his ears, including when he tries to fall asleep. In February 2011 the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in connection with his compensation claim. The examiner noted the Veteran’s statement that his tinnitus began soon after entering service, but nevertheless ultimately concluded that because there was no diagnosis of tinnitus during active duty the Veteran’s current tinnitus is unlikely related to service. First, the Board finds that the Veteran currently suffers from a disability of tinnitus. Tinnitus by definition is “a noise in the ears, such as ringing, buzzing, roaring, or clicking. It is usually subjective in type.” DORLAND’S ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL DICTIONARY, 1914 (30th ed. 2003). The Veteran reports that he experiences ringing in his ears which, for example, makes it more difficult for him to sleep. As tinnitus is observable by a layperson, the Veteran is competent to report that he experiences tinnitus. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Board next finds that the Veteran sustained acoustic trauma in service. The Veteran specialized as an aviation mechanic which required close work with engines and his presence on a noisy air field. An informational table within the record grades the aircraft maintenance MOS as “highly probable” for involving noise exposure. The exposure to noise would worsen when he had to remove his hearing protection in order to properly perform his duties. The Board finds the Veteran’s statements consistent with the types and circumstances of his service, as shown by his service records. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Finally, the Board finds the Veteran’s current disability of tinnitus is causally linked to the acoustic trauma he sustained in service. The Veteran, who is competent and credible to report tinnitus, told the VA examiner that his tinnitus began roughly around the year he entered service. Yet, the examiner’s opinion appeared to ignore this fact and instead relied only on the absence of a recorded diagnosis in service to conclude that there was no causal link to service. Yet, “the medical examiner cannot rely on the absence of medical records corroborating that injury to conclude that there is no relationship between the appellant’s current disability and his military service.” Dalton v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 23, 40 (2007). Where the examiner does so, the examination is inadequate. Id. Moreover, because any examination’s probative value depends on whether it is based on sufficient facts, this examination is entitled to no weight. See Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 302 (2008). While a finding that a VA-provided examination was inadequate ordinarily necessitates the Board remand for an adequate VA examination, see Barr v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 303, 311 (2007), in this case that finding disposes of the only evidence contrary to the Veteran’s own evidence supporting a nexus. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(d)(1). The Board finds that the evidence of record is sufficient to establish an etiology between the Veteran’s current tinnitus and the in-service acoustic trauma. The Veteran maintains that his tinnitus began while in service, 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d), and he states that “[his] ears have been ringing ever since the Marine Corps,” evidencing a continuity of symptomology. See Fountain, 27 Vet. App. at 263-64 (citing Walker, 708 F.3d at 1340); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b). Moreover, the Veteran noted in his substantive appeal that the only noise exposure he has experienced came from service, not any other source. This testimony is competent and credible, and the Board finds it sufficiently probative to establish a nexus. Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331, 1335, 1336 n.1 (Fed. Cir. 2006); Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 469 (1994) (citing Horowitz v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 217, 221-22 (1993)); 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Having considered the totality of the lay and medical evidence of record, both positive and negative, and resolving all doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that the Veteran’s current tinnitus is etiologically related to acoustic trauma sustained in service. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 53 (1990); 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(d), 3.307, 3.309(a). K. PARAKKAL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Davis, Associate Counsel