Citation Nr: 18152770
Decision Date: 11/27/18	Archive Date: 11/26/18

DOCKET NO. 16-57 951
DATE:	November 27, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for right ear sensorineural hearing loss is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran’s sensorineural hearing loss in his right ear is etiologically related to his active service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the criteria for service connection for sensorineural hearing loss of the right ear are met.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a) (2018).


REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran had active service from October 1979 to August 1983.
The Board notes that the Veteran’s September 2016 VA Form 9, Substantive Appeal, indicated that the Veteran appealed only the rating assigned for his service-connected left ear sensorineural hearing loss.  However, in a December  2016 statement, the Veteran indicated that he was instead seeking service connection for right ear hearing loss rather than a higher initial evaluation for left ear sensorineural hearing loss.  January 2017, February 2017, and July 2018 statements from the Veteran’s representative clearly indicate that the Veteran is indeed appealing the denial of service connection for hearing loss in his right ear.  Accordingly, the initial non-compensable evaluation for left ear sensorineural hearing loss is not before the Board and will not be discussed further.
Entitlement to Service Connection for Right Ear Sensorineural Hearing Loss 
An audiological examination from August 2016 demonstrates that the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes, satisfying the first element for service connection.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303; Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004).  In a statement received in October 2016, the Veteran reports noise exposure (tank cannon fire) during military exercises at Camp Pendleton, thus the second element of service connection requiring an in-service event or injury is also met.
Turning to the third element, there is conflicting medical evidence regarding the etiology of hearing loss in the Veteran’s right ear.  The August 2016 examination report includes the examiner’s observation of a threshold shift in the Veteran’s hearing in his left ear during active service, which served as the basis for a positive nexus opinion; however, the examiner observed no threshold shift in the Veteran’s hearing in his right ear.  In a September 2016 letter, A.M., a speech-language pathologist, noted that the Veteran’s in-service hearing tests did not include the higher frequency ranges, which she intimated would show the first signs of hearing loss due to noise exposure. She indicated that there is “clear” association between the noise exposure during active service and the Veteran’s right ear hearing loss.  Neither opinion is any more or less probative than the other.  The evidence is in equipoise; therefore, the Board resolves reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor and concludes that the Veteran’s sensorineural hearing loss is etiologically related to his active service.  See 38 C.F.R. § 3.159; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 58 (1990).  The third element of service connection is met.
In light of the foregoing, entitlement to service connection for sensorineural hearing loss in the Veteran’s right ear is granted.
 
MICHAEL A. HERMAN
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Douglas M. Humphrey, Associate Counsel