Citation Nr: 18146276 Decision Date: 10/31/18 Archive Date: 10/30/18 DOCKET NO. 16-37 273 DATE: October 31, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran’s current bilateral hearing loss disability is related to his in-service noise exposure. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1965 to September 1967. This appeal comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in a videoconference hearing in July 2017. Service Connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that current disability resulted from a disease or injury incurred in active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Establishing service connection generally requires competent evidence of three things: (1) current disability; (2) in-service incurrence of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2018). Consistent with this framework, service connection is warranted for a disease first diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). For the purpose of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing is considered a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory threshold for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 Hertz is 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. When audiometric test results at separation from service do not meet the regulatory requirements for establishing a disability at that time, a veteran may nevertheless establish service connection for a current hearing disability by submitting evidence that the current disability is causally related to service. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 160 (1993). The threshold for normal hearing is from 0 to 20 decibels. Id. at 157. The Veteran contends that his current bilateral hearing loss disability is a result of his in-service noise exposure. Service treatment records (STRs) reflect normal hearing bilaterally at entrance and separation. In a hearing loss questionnaire dated in September 2014, the Veteran reported he has a history of noise exposure in the military from rifles, artillery fire, and helicopters. He also reported a history of occupational noise exposure while being a warehouse janitor and working around warehouse equipment. The Veteran reported that hearing protection was not used at any time. In an October 2014 private hearing evaluation, Dr. G., a private audiologist, noted the Veteran reported hearing difficulties which began during military service. The examiner reported the Veteran presented with bilateral high frequency sensorineural hearing loss which is typical symptoms of exposure to hazardous noise levels. The Veteran stated he experienced regular hazardous noise levels during military service, and never before or since without the use of ear protection. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s hearing loss was more likely than not the result of noise exposure during service, given his history of noise exposure. In April 2015, a VA audiologist opined that the Veteran’s hearing loss was not likely related to his in-service noise exposure. The audiologists noted the Veteran’s normal hearing throughout service and noted that he worked in a loud environment for 23 years following service with no hearing protection use until the last few years of employment. During the July 2017 Board hearing, the Veteran clarified that his post-service employment did not require him to spend much time around loud machinery. (Continued on the next page)   After review of the evidence, resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board grants service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The Board finds the Veteran currently has bilateral hearing loss, and he had acoustic trauma in service. As to the remaining element, while there is medical opinion evidence both for and against the claim, as described above, the Board finds that the evidence is in relative equipoise. As such, the Board grants the benefits sought. Matthew Tenner Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Diane M. Donahue Boushehri, Counsel