Citation Nr: 18154292 Decision Date: 11/29/18 Archive Date: 11/29/18 DOCKET NO. 16-58 683A DATE: November 29, 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 evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether the Veteran’s current hearing loss disability is related to his in-service hearing loss. 2. The preponderance of the evidence weighs in favor of a finding that the Veteran’s tinnitus is a symptom associated with his hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1111, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from June 1966 to October 1969. Service Connection The Veteran claims entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, a veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service—the so-called “nexus” requirement. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). For the purposes of applying the laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), impaired hearing will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 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. In this case, the Board finds that the most pertinent evidence in the claims file consists of the Veteran’s statements, his service treatment records (STRs), and the report from a June 2015 VA hearing loss and tinnitus examination. The Veteran claims that he developed bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus as a consequence of in-service noise exposure. He contends that he was exposed to noise associated with his interception of radio signals, while listening through headphones at high volume, as part of his in-service work as a radio intercept operator. He claims that his work as a radio intercept operator was similar to the work of those in the Voice Intercept Technician military occupational specialty (MOS) in the Army. See, e.g., letter and attachments received from Veteran in April 2018; letter received from Veteran in November 2017. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) show that at the time of his discharge from active duty, he had high frequency hearing loss, but not quite to the level that it was a hearing loss disability, per 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran was afforded a VA examination in June 2015, and the examiner found that the Veteran does have a hearing loss disability, but the examiner was unable to opine on the etiology of the Veteran’s hearing loss disability without resort to mere speculation. The examiner did state, however, that the Veteran suffered a minor loss of hearing during his active military service, and that the progression of that hearing loss was likely due to presbycusis. The examiner also stated that the Veteran did report tinnitus, and that the tinnitus was at least as likely as not a symptom associated with the Veteran’s hearing loss. Considering the evidence of record, including but not limited to that discussed above, the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs in favor of a finding that the Veteran: he has a current hearing loss disability, as discussed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385; was exposed to a significant level of noise exposure during his active military service; did suffer some level of hearing loss during his active military service; and his tinnitus is associated with his current hearing loss disability. The Board also finds that the evidence of record is in relative equipoise as to the question of whether the Veteran’s hearing loss is a continuation of his in-service hearing loss. The Board makes the aforementioned findings because it finds the Veteran’s statements to be credible and well-supported by the other evidence of record as related to the level of noise exposure that he sustained during his service and the continuity and worsening of his hearing loss and tinnitus since his service. The Board notes, in this regard, that there is no other evidence to the contrary in the claims file, on those particular points. Furthermore, the Board finds that the VA examiner’s statement that the worsening of the Veteran’s hearing loss since service is likely due to presbycusis is not supported by an adequate rationale. Thus, that portion of the examiner’s opinion is worthy of less probative value than it otherwise would be if it was accompanied by a detailed rationale. Therefore, the Board finds that the Veteran’s statements as to the onset and continuity of his hearing loss and tinnitus are at least as probative as the examiner’s statement that the worsening of the Veteran’s hearing loss is due to presbycusis. Finally, the VA examiner and the Veteran have indicated that his tinnitus is associated with his hearing loss, and there is no evidence to the contrary, so the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence weighs in favor of such a finding. In conclusion, the evidence in totality compels the conclusion that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran sustained an abnormally high level of noise exposure while on active duty, that he has suffered from worsening hearing loss and tinnitus since then, and that each has resulted in current hearing loss and tinnitus disabilities. Accordingly, the Veteran’s claims of entitlement to service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus are granted. A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD C. Banks, Associate Counsel