Citation Nr: 18152310 Decision Date: 11/21/18 Archive Date: 11/21/18 DOCKET NO. 16-08 885 DATE: November 21, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The tinnitus began during service. 2. The bilateral hearing loss is related to service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1131, 1137 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385 (2018). 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1131, 1137 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service from November 1959 to November 1963 with additional service in the Air Force Reserve. A videoconference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge was held at the RO in November 2018. Service Connection 1. Hearing Loss 2. Tinnitus The Veteran contends that his hearing loss and tinnitus began during service and were caused by exposure to excessive noise during service. The Veteran’s service personnel records reveal that he served in the Air Force, including service in hazardous noise areas that required regular testing for “ hearing conservation data.” The Veteran’s DD-214 indicates that he served as an aircraft mechanic. Service connection may be established for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1131, 1137; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Where a veteran served for at least 90 days during a period of war and manifests organic disease of the nervous system to a degree of 10 percent within one year from the date of termination of such service, such disease shall be presumed to have been incurred or aggravated in service, even though there is no evidence of such disease during the period of service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 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. The absence of in-service evidence of hearing loss is not fatal to a claim for service connection. Ledford v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 87, 89 (1992). Evidence of a current hearing loss disability, i.e., one meeting the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, as noted above, and a medically sound basis for attributing such disability to service may serve as a basis for a grant of service connection for hearing loss. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 159 (1993). After consideration of the evidence, the Board finds service connection is warranted for hearing loss and tinnitus. The record indicates that the Veteran was exposed to noise in service, he has been diagnosed with hearing loss as defined by VA, and he has competently reported tinnitus during and since service. Resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds service connection is warranted for tinnitus. The Board further finds that service connection is warranted for hearing loss. The evidence supports a finding of significant in-service noise exposure. Service records are inadequate to determine whether there was a threshold shift between entry and discharge from service because only a whispered and spoken voice test was done at entry, but there is evidence of shifts in puretone thresholds in both ears shown on Hearing Conservation reports dated in December 1959 and March 1962 and between the December 1959 Hearing Conservation report and the separation examination record. Resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds service connection is warranted for hearing loss. The Board notes that the Veteran was provided a VA examination in August 2013. However, the examination is inadequate. It is well established that medical opinions that are speculative, general, or inconclusive in nature do not provide a sufficient basis upon which to support a claim. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 85 (2006). Further, the examiner failed to consider the Veteran’s lay statements which indicated that he has experienced hearing loss and tinnitus since service. As such, the Board finds the examiner’s opinion to be inadequate as to bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus and it is not entitled to probative weight. Resolving all doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds service connection is warranted for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. T. REYNOLDS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. Snyder, counsel