Citation Nr: 18156497 Decision Date: 12/10/18 Archive Date: 12/10/18 DOCKET NO. 17-16 520 DATE: December 10, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s hearing loss is manifested by level I hearing in each ear. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an initial compensable rating for a bilateral hearing loss disability have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.85, 4.86, Diagnostic Code 6100. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1961 to December 1965. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a July 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). That rating decision granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and assigned an initial noncompensable evaluation. 1. Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss Disability ratings are determined by applying the criteria set forth in the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (Rating Schedule) and are intended to represent the average impairment of earning capacity resulting from disability. 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. § 4.1. Disabilities must be reviewed in relation to their history. 38 C.F.R. § 4.1. Other applicable, general policy considerations are: interpreting reports of examination in light of the whole recorded history, reconciling the various reports into a consistent picture so that the current rating may accurately reflect the elements of disability, 38 C.F.R. § 4.2; resolving any reasonable doubt regarding the degree of disability in favor of the claimant, 38 C.F.R. § 4.3; where there is a question as to which of two evaluations apply, assigning a higher of the two where the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria for the next higher rating, 38 C.F.R. § 4.7; and, evaluating functional impairment on the basis of lack of usefulness, and the effects of the disabilities upon the person’s ordinary activity, 38 C.F.R. § 4.10. See Schafrath v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 589 (1991). The Veteran contends that he is entitled to a compensable disability rating for his bilateral hearing loss. Hearing loss is rated under Diagnostic Code 6100. The assigned evaluations for hearing loss are determined by mechanically, so nondiscretionarily, applying the rating criteria to certified test results. See Lendenmann v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 345, 349 (1992). Hearing loss ratings range from noncompensable to 100 percent based on organic impairment of hearing acuity, as measured by controlled speech discrimination tests in conjunction with average hearing thresholds determined by puretone audiometric testing at frequencies of 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 cycles per second. “Puretone threshold average” is the sum of the puretone thresholds at 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hertz divided by four. This average is used in all cases (including those in §4.86) to determine the Roman numeral designation for hearing impairment from Table VI or VIA. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Diagnostic Code 6100. A VA examination was conducted in June 2015. Pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 50 50 50 45 LEFT 55 55 50 50 Speech audiometry revealed speech recognition ability of 100 percent in the right ear and 96 percent in the left ear. Applying the results from the June 2015 VA examination to Table VI in 38 C.F.R. § 4.85 yields a finding of Level I hearing loss in the right ear and Level I hearing loss in the left ear. When both ears have Level I hearing loss, a zero percent (noncompensable) rating is assigned under Table VII. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. The Veteran has reported that he has trouble hearing his wife, especially when she is another room. He reported needing to turn up the television, and stated that he had to be cautious when driving and using motorized tools. The Veteran has been prescribed hearing aids. The Board does not discount the difficulties the Veteran has with his hearing acuity, however as noted above, schedular disability ratings for hearing loss are based on the results of the audiological studies of record. Lendenmann v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 345, 349 (1992). The Veteran’s hearing difficulties with everyday speech and in noisy environments are acknowledged; however, the rating criteria for hearing loss contemplate the functional effects of decreased hearing and difficulty understanding speech in an everyday work environment as these are the effects that VA’s audiometric tests are designed to measure. Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet. App. 377 (2017). In reaching this decision, the Board considered the doctrine of reasonable doubt. However, since the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, the benefit of the doubt doctrine does not apply. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b) (2012); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). There are no additional expressly or reasonably raised issues presented on the record. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. G. Mazzucchelli, Counsel