Citation Nr: 18159657 Decision Date: 12/20/18 Archive Date: 12/19/18 DOCKET NO. 15-45 454 DATE: December 20, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability is granted. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. After resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, his bilateral hearing loss disability was incurred in and is related to his military service. 2. The Veteran’s tinnitus is related to his bilateral hearing loss disability. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304 (2017). 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.310 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from July 1966 to June 1968. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2014 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In December 2018, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. Service Connection Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection requires evidence showing: (1) a current disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a nexus between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated in service. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disability was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). 1. Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability. Hearing loss will be considered a disability for VA purposes when the threshold level in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 hertz (Hz) is 40 decibels or greater; or the thresholds for at least three of these frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or speech recognition scores utilizing recorded Maryland CNC word lists are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385; see also Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 178-80 (2007). The Veteran has a bilateral hearing loss disability for VA purposes. See October 2014 VA examination. His military occupational specialty was as an artillery mechanic, see DD 214, and thus noise exposure during service is conceded. Although the Veteran reported an onset of hearing loss “years ago,” during an October 2014 VA examination, he later testified about buzzing in his ears and hearing loss during service and stated that he did not pay attention to it at the time. He also testified that he worked in a factory after his service but was not in a position that involved exposure to loud noises. See December 2018 Board hearing. The October 2014 VA examiner opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s hearing loss disability was related to his service, but relied on the absence of an audiological shift during service and an absence of reports of hearing loss in the Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs). Service connection for a hearing loss disability can still be warranted even when the Veteran had normal audiometric tests upon discharge. See Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 159 (1993). Thus, the VA examiner’s opinion is given no probative weight. In light of the Veteran’s noise exposure and symptoms in service, and after resolving reasonable doubt in his favor, his bilateral hearing loss disability was incurred in and is related to his military service. Thus, service connection is warranted. 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. Establishing secondary service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability (for which secondary service connection is sought); (2) a service-connected disability; and (3) that the current disability was either caused or aggravated by the service-connected disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a); see also Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995). The October 2014 VA examiner opined that the Veteran had tinnitus related to his bilateral hearing loss disability, because tinnitus is a known symptom of hearing loss. See October 2014 VA examination. There is no contradictory opinion of record. Thus, the Board finds that the Veteran’s tinnitus is related to his now-service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability, and service connection is warranted. E. I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Sandler, Associate Counsel