Citation Nr: 18148938 Decision Date: 11/09/18 Archive Date: 11/08/18 DOCKET NO. 12-13 333 DATE: November 9, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a throat disability is denied. Entitlement to service connection for a lung disability is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran does not have a throat disability. 2. The Veteran does not have a lung disability. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for a throat disability have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (West 2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (2017). 2. The criteria for service connection for a lung disability have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107 (West 2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from October 1968 to July 1970. In February 2017, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veteran’s Law Judge (VLJ) at a Travel Board hearing. The transcript has been associated with the claims file. In May 2017, the Board remanded the appeal to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) to schedule the Veteran a VA examination. On remand, the Veteran received VA examination, and his claim has since been returned to the Board. Service Connection Service connection is warranted where the evidence of record establishes that a particular injury or disease resulting in disability was incurred in the line of duty in the active military service or, if pre-existing such service, was aggravated thereby. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131 (West 2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a) (2017). Generally, in order to prove service connection, there must be competent, credible evidence of (1) a current disability, (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of an injury or disease, and (3) a nexus, or link, between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. See, e.g., Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Entitlement to service connection for a throat and/or lung disability The Veteran maintains that he developed a throat and/or lung disability in service, to include his exposure to asbestos while aboard the U.S.S. Hawkins during active service. He asserts that he developed a cough in service, which has continued to present day. As a result, he experiences a chronic cough as well as soreness, pain and swelling in his left chest/lung. Service treatment records (STRs) reveal that in April 1969, the Veteran presented to sick call with a complaint of a sore throat and rhinorrhea. Following a physical examination, the treatment provider noted that his throat was read and inflamed with exudate on the right side and enlarged nodes. No specific diagnosis was recorded, but he was prescribed a course of antibiotics, decongestant and saline gargle. A March 2005 E.C.M. Hospital Clinic note indicates that the Veteran appeared for a follow-up visit and reported continued sinus congestion. Several days prior, he had been prescribed antibiotics and cough syrup. However, he returned indicating he had since developed pain in his chest, back, shoulders and arms. In February 2010, the Veteran presented at a VA clinic for acute care complaining of pressure in his ears, decreased hearing, allergy symptoms, and frontal headaches. During this visit, the treatment provider observed he had rhinorrhea and a cough, but his breathing sounds were clear. The Veteran was diagnosed with upper respiratory infection. In December 2011, the Veteran complained of head and chest congestion. He was prescribed antibiotics. One month later, he went in for a regular check-up complaining of coughing and sneezing with post-nasal drainage, which cleared up after taking antibiotics. The Veteran was most recently afforded VA examination in January 2018. The examiner indicated that he did not have a specific throat, lung or respiratory disability, but diagnosed with him allergic rhinitis, only. The Veteran reported shortness of breath with prolonged walking for the past 7-8 years; however, the examiner indicated that he did not have a pulmonary diagnosis. The Veteran was treated in the past for bronchitis, as he used tobacco from 1969 to 1980; and the examiner noted that he served in the Navy from 1968 to 1970 as a Machinist Mate, then later worked at a vehicle shock plant, as a contractor inside a paper mill for three years, and eventually retired from an aluminum wire plant. At the time of the examination, the Veteran denied a cough and indicated that he did not use inhaled medications, oral bronchodilators, antibiotics or outpatient oxygen therapy. Based on x-ray results, the Veteran’s lungs were clear, without consolidation, pleural effusion or pneumothorax. The cardiac size and mediastinal contour were normal. The existence of a current disability is the basis of the first element of a claim for VA disability compensation. See Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F. 3d 1328 (1997). In the absence of evidence of a present disability, there can be no valid claim. Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). Evidence must show that the Veteran currently has the disability for which benefits are being claimed. The Board must conclude that service connection for a throat and/or lung disability is not warranted because the evidence does not establish the presence of a throat or lung disability for purposes of VA compensation at any time during the pendency of this claim. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran’s claims; therefore, the benefit of the doubt provision does not apply. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD I. Warren, Associate Counsel