Citation Nr: 18153195 Decision Date: 11/27/18 Archive Date: 11/27/18 DOCKET NO. 16-31 169 DATE: November 27, 2018 ORDER Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s current bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes began in and has continued since service. 2. The Veteran’s current tinnitus began in and has continued since service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1131, 1137, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385. 2. The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1131, 1137, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service from February 1974 to May 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2013 rating decision. In December 2013, the Veteran submitted a statement requesting reconsideration and attaching medical reports and a Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) from an audiologist. Subsequently, the agency of original jurisdiction readjudicate these matters in a March 2014 rating decision. Additionally, the Veteran testified at a July 2017 Board hearing before the undersigned. Service Connection 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran asserts that his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are related to noise exposure during his period of active service. Service connection may be established for disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty in the active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110; 1131. Active military, naval, or air service includes any period of ACDUTRA during which the individual concerned was disabled or died from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated in the line of duty. 38 U.S.C. §§ 101(21), (24), 106; 38 C.F.R. § 3.6(a), (d). The Board concludes that the Veteran experienced acoustic trauma during ACDUTRA. Further, while the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were not diagnosed at the time, both have been noted to be chronic, and there has been continuity of symptomatology since the Veteran’s period of ACDUTRA. At the July 2017 Board hearing, the Veteran reported exposure to noise from live ammunition in the riffle range, as well as noise from trucks and other heavy machinery, during ACDUTRA. The Veteran’s DD-214 for his period of active service indicates that his military occupationally specialty (MOS) was wheeled vehicle mechanic; it also documents significant weapons training, to include M-16 and hand grenades. The Veteran has testified that hearing protection was not provided at the time. In view of this, the Board finds that the Veteran’s report of hazardous noise exposure is consistent with the places, types, and circumstances of his military service. As such, exposure to hazardous noise during his service is established by competent and credible evidence. A July 2013 VA examination shows a bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The report reflects sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. It also shows a report of recurrent tinnitus since service. The Veteran is competent to identify tinnitus, as this condition is observable by a person’s own senses, and to report a continuity of symptomatology. See Charles v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 370, 374 (2002). This competent and credible evidence established current disabilities. A nexus between a current disability and an in-service injury or event may be established by evidence of continuity of symptomatology, if the condition is a chronic disease enumerated under 38 U.S.C. § 1101. Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1338-40 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus are considered an organic disease of the nervous system, and as such are enumerated chronic diseases. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1137; Memorandum, Characterization of High Frequency Sensorineural Hearing Loss, Under Secretary for Health, Oct. 4, 1995; see Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258, 271-72 (2015) (finding tinnitus to be an “organic disease of the nervous system,” which is listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a)). At the July 2017 Board hearing, the Veteran testified that he first noticed hearing difficulties when he went back home from his active service. He described situations in which people would have to repeat themselves when addressing him. Regarding tinnitus, he indicated that he first noticed ringing in the ears during his active service. He added that it has been continuous since then. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Board finds that the Veteran’s reports of hearing loss and tinnitus since his active service are both competent and credible. As the evidence establishes that the Veteran experienced acoustic trauma during active service, that he has diagnoses of bilateral hearing loss and recurrent tinnitus, and that, for both disabilities, there has been a continuity of symptomatology since service, the Board finds that the criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been met. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(b), 3.309. As such, the Board finds that service connection is warranted for both disabilities. Paul Sorisio Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD P. López, Associate Counsel