Citation Nr: 18159101 Decision Date: 12/18/18 Archive Date: 12/18/18 DOCKET NO. 13-13 749 DATE: December 18, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for hearing loss is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and is presumed exposed to hazardous noise while in service. 2. Hearing loss has been shown to be etiologically related to military service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW The criteria for service connection for hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1154, 1155, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303.   REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from May 1968 to May 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2008 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Oakland, California. In March 2017, the Board remanded the appeal for additional development. Service Connection The Veteran contends that he has current bilateral hearing loss as a result of his in-service noise exposure. He asserts that he exposed to machine gun fire as a machine gun assistant. An October 2007 treatment report noted that the Veteran reported that he was also exposed to a significant number of incoming explosions at very close proximity during his combat. 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. In Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 159 (1993) the Court stated that VA regulations do not preclude service connection for a current hearing disability where hearing was within normal limits on audiometric testing at separation from service. When audiometric test results at a veteran’s separation from service do not meet the regulatory requirements for establishing a “disability” at that time, he or she may nevertheless establish service connection for a current hearing disability by submitting evidence that the current disability is causally related to service. Hensley, 5 Vet. App. at 159-60. The holding in Hensley was that VA may not use audiometric tests from a claimant’s separation examination as a per se legal bar on proving service connection. Service treatment records are negative for a diagnosed hearing loss disability, including at separation. The Veteran received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and is presumed exposed to hazardous noise while in service. The Veteran underwent a VA examination in February 2008; the report shows objective audiometric testing that satisfies the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The examiner opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss was caused by or a result of military service. The examiner noted that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss was due to service given the normal hearing levels reported in the record just prior to the Veteran’s release from active duty. In the March 2017 remand, the Board noted that the February 2008 VA examination appeared to be based solely on the absence of documented hearing loss disability in the Veteran’s service records. For this reason, the examination and opinion were inadequate for adjudication purposes. A September 2017 VA examination report shows objective audiometric testing that satisfies the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The VA examiner opined, however, that the Veteran’ hearing loss was not at least as likely as not related military service. The examiner explained that given that the separation audio examination failed to show hearing loss in the right or left ear per VA standards, therefore it was less likely than not that the hearing loss was associated with “acoustic trauma” from military exposure. The September 2017 VA opinion is based solely on the absence of documented hearing loss at separation, and thus is inadequate and will not be used for adjudication purposes. Additional VA treatment records were added to the file following the Board’s March 2017 remand. These records included an etiological opinion from the Veteran’s VA audiologist dated in December 2016. This audiologist indicated that the Veteran has high frequency sensorineural hearing loss and has had hearing decline over the last 47 years, along with military noise exposure without the use of ear protection and also head trauma. The audiologist opined that it is [at least] as likely as not that the Veteran’s hearing loss decline is due to his severe noise exposure during military combat. The Board finds this opinion probative as the examiner was generally familiar with the Veteran’s relevant service history and based her opinion on such history and his clinical presentation. Although the audiologist did not review the service treatment records, these records show normal hearing at discharge. The Board also notes that the Veteran is indeed service-connected for a traumatic brain injury which originated following a blast in Vietnam. While the probative value of this opinion is somewhat lessened as no rationale was provided, there is no probative opinion to the contrary. In sum, the Veteran has a current bilateral sensorineural hearing loss disability for VA purposes, was exposed to hazardous noise while in service, and has provided competent nexus evidence which the Board finds probative. This evidence is sufficient to establish that the Veteran current hearing loss disability is related to in-service noise exposure. Accordingly, service connection for bilateral hearing loss is warranted.38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. Lauritzen, Associate Counsel