Citation Nr: 18150392 Decision Date: 11/15/18 Archive Date: 11/15/18 DOCKET NO. 16-48 023 DATE: November 15, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s tinnitus was incurred in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from January 1967 to January 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veteran’s Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2015 rating decision by the Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus The Veteran asserts he has tinnitus due to his duties in service as a ground radio operator, and due to incoming mortar attacks in Vietnam. In his substantive appeal, the Veteran reported that his tinnitus began in service. He reported that as a ground radio operator, he worked eight- to 10-hour shifts wearing a headset with constant static except for when a B-52 reported in, or when he relayed top secret messages to B-52s from headquarters. He also reported that while serving in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces Group, he was on one occasion flown by helicopter to a forward “A” camp for seven to 10 days with a group of 12 special forces, and that they were under nightly mortar attacks that were extremely loud. The Veteran’s service personnel records show that he served in Vietnam as a Ground Radio Operator from February 1969 to August 1969, including with Company C, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. See Service personnel records p.1-3. Regarding the Veteran’s contended combat service in Vietnam, he is the receipt of the Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze service star. While this is not prima facie evidence of combat, it indicates that he may have served in combat, particularly because he served in a special forces airborne unit while in Vietnam. Regardless, the Veteran’s military occupational specialties of Radio Operator and Ground Radio Operator are among those military occupations acknowledged by VA internal guidance as involving a moderate probability of exposure to hazardous noise. Therefore, exposure to hazardous noise in service is conceded. The Board acknowledges that the Veteran’s service treatment records do not show any complaints of tinnitus. The Veteran’s post-service VA treatment records show the Veteran has reported tinnitus since June 2011, albeit the VA treatment records in the file are only dated since 2010. See CAPRI, received September 2015 at p.171 of 192. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in September 2015. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s tinnitus is less likely than not related to his active service. The examiner reasoned that because the Veteran had no significant shift in pure tone thresholds from the time of enlistment to the time of separation from service, there was no objective evidence of a hearing injury and, therefore, it would be mere conjecture to relate the Veteran’s tinnitus to his active service. The examiner provided a very detailed explanation and rationale with citations to published research on noise exposure and its effect on hearing acuity. In this particular case, however, the Veteran’s military occupational specialty is among those listed in VA internal guidance as having a moderate likelihood of hazardous noise exposure. Moreover, the Veteran in this case has reported experiencing tinnitus since service, which a lay person is competent to report. See Charles v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 370, 374 (2002) (ringing in the ears is capable of lay observation). The Board also finds his detailed report of listening to static all day in service, and experiencing tinnitus since service, to be credible. Notwithstanding the very detailed, comprehensive analysis by the competent examiner, there is also competent and credible lay testimony by the Veteran. Therefore, the Board finds that there is a relatively equal balance of competent evidence for and against the onset of tinnitus in service that continued after service, and service connection for tinnitus is warranted. J.W. FRANCIS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Juliano, Counsel