Citation Nr: 18158169 Decision Date: 12/14/18 Archive Date: 12/14/18 DOCKET NO. 17-00 058A DATE: December 14, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have bilateral hearing loss for VA compensation purposes. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385, 4.85. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1986 to June 1988. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2016 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Service connection will be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The evidence must show (1) the existence of a current disability, (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury, and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The existence of a current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for VA disability compensation. Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F.3d 1328 (Fed. Cir. 1997); see also Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992). Service connection for impaired hearing shall only be established when hearing status as determined by audiometric testing meets specified pure tone and speech recognition criteria. Audiometric testing measures threshold hearing levels (in decibels) over a range of frequencies (in Hertz). Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 158 (1993). Impaired hearing will be considered to be 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. In March 2016, a VA contract audiological examination was provided. On the authorized audiological evaluation from this examination pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 5 5 20 25 35 LEFT 10 10 15 20 30 Speech audiometry revealed speech recognition ability of 100 percent in the right ear and of 100 percent in the left ear. Hearing loss for VA purposes is not demonstrated. As there is no competent evidence of record indicating a current hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes, the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine does not apply. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). Moreover, there are no audiometric findings in the service treatment records that meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability under VA regulations. A current disability has not been shown and therefore service connection is not warranted. See Brammer, supra. Although the Veteran is competent to report the symptoms of hearing loss, he does not possess the requisite expertise or training to address whether his hearing loss meets the criteria of a hearing loss disability as set out under VA regulations. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (Fed. Cir. 2007). As a final matter, the Veteran’s representative filed a brief in May 2018 arguing that the March 2016 examiner did not adequately asses the Veteran’s hearing loss. This assertion was not supported by any competent evidence. There is no indication in the record of any inadequacies or deficiencies in the examiner or examination other than the Veteran’s representative’s unsupported assertion. (Continued on the next page)   Based on the foregoing, service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD M. Ariasaif, Associate Counsel