Citation Nr: 18151257 Decision Date: 11/16/18 Archive Date: 11/16/18 DOCKET NO. 16-48 165 DATE: November 16, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The probative and competent evidence of record is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss disability was incurred in or related to military service. 2. The probative and competent evidence of record is in equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s tinnitus was incurred in or related to military service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, the criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.385. 2. Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, the criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active from June 1986 to August 1986. The Veteran also served in the United States Marine Corps. Reserves with several periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) to specifically include November 1989 to November 1990. Service Connection Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed.Cir.2009); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999); Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 498, 506 (1995), aff’d per curiam, 78 F.3d 604 (Fed.Cir.1996) (table). 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss The Veteran contends that his bilateral hearing loss was caused during service while he delivered artillery rounds to artillery units during live fire exercises during his active service. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies at 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies at 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz are 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. Even though disabling hearing loss is not demonstrated at separation, a veteran may, nevertheless, establish service connection for a current hearing disability by submitting evidence that a current disability is related to service. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155 (1993). Turning to the evidence of record, the Veteran enlisted into the Marine Reserves in June 1986, and after basic training he was assigned to the reserves as a motor vehicle operator. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STR’s) are silent for any complaints, concerns or documentation of incidents or examinations pertaining to hearing loss during or prior to military service. A January 2016 VA audiological examination yielded results that meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes. Although the examiner conceded that he Veteran was exposed to hazardous noise during service, the examiner opined that the Veteran did not experience a noise injury during service and therefore it was less likely than not that his bilateral hearing loss was related to his military service. The examiner based that opinion on the lack of a “significant auditory threshold shift” during the Veteran’s service. The examiner also referenced studies stating that that there is low probability for hearing loss to develop later in life from earlier noise exposure if there is no objective evidence of hearing loss at the time of the noise exposure. The Veteran testified at a Board hearing in April 2017. During the hearing, the Veteran explained that he transported artillery to units operating eight inch and 105 millimeter (mm) self-propelled Howitzer artillery guns during live exercises. The Veteran testified that during these live fire exercises the person next to him could be screaming and he could not hear what they were saying. The Veteran further testified that he had little to no hearing protection and even experienced his ears bleeding once. Additional evidence was presented at the hearing that the Veteran spend a year on ACDUTRA from November 1989 to November 1990. The Veteran subsequently submitted military records verifying his Marine Reserve training, to include November 1989 to November 1990. Based on the evidence of record, the Board finds the Veteran’s lay statements that his hearing loss started when he was exposed to artillery fire and explosions during live fire exercises while training to be to be competent, credible, and probative. The evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran currently has a bilateral hearing loss disability; that his duties during service involved exposure to hazardous noise; and that he has experienced bilateral hearing loss since service. Consequently, service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus The Veteran contends that tinnitus was caused during service while he delivered artillery rounds to artillery units during live fire exercises during his active service. Because tinnitus is “subjective,” its existence is generally determined by whether or not the Veteran claims to experience it. For VA purposes, tinnitus has been specifically found to be a disorder with symptoms that can be identified through lay observation alone. See Charles v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 370 (2002). The Board finds the Veteran credible with regard to his claim of incurrence of tinnitus in service and continuity of tinnitus since service. The Veteran participated in combat operations while serving in Korea. The Veteran’s separation examination reports are not available for review. The January 2016 audiological examiner opined that the Veteran’s tinnitus is not related to noise exposure while in military service, stating, “In the absence of an objectively verifiable noise injury, the association between claimed tinnitus and noise exposure cannot be assumed to exist.” During the Veteran’s April 2017 Board hearing the Veteran testified that he first noticed the ringing in his ears around the third year in the reserves and that he definitely had ringing in his ears since service. The Veteran further testified that the ringing started instantly. The Veteran also testified that his tinnitus continues to this day and described it as white noise, that sometimes sounds like voices. The Board finds the Veteran’s testimony that tinnitus began during service and has continued since are competent, credible, and probative. Notwithstanding the negative January 2016 opinion, the Board finds that the record reasonably supports the claim. The evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran currently has tinnitus; that his duties during service involved exposure to hazardous noise, which the January 2016 examiner acknowledged; and that he has experienced tinnitus since service. Service connection for tinnitus is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Perkins, Michael