Citation Nr: 18159953 Decision Date: 12/20/18 Archive Date: 12/20/18 DOCKET NO. 17-05 798 DATE: December 20, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied. Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss is granted. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran does not have current right ear hearing loss for VA purposes. 2. Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, his left ear hearing loss has been etiologically related to noise exposure in service. 3. Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, his tinnitus has been etiologically related to his hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for right ear hearing loss have not been satisfied. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. 2. The criteria for service connection for left ear hearing loss have been satisfied. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. 3. The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been satisfied. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from January 1968 to January 1971. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active duty. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. For the purpose of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered a disability when the auditory threshold for any of the frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; the auditory thresholds for at least three of those frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Board acknowledges that the lack of any evidence of hearing loss during service is not fatal to the Veteran’s claim. The laws and regulations do not require in-service complaints of, or treatment for, hearing loss in order to establish service connection. Ledford v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 87, 89 (1992). 1. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss The Veteran seeks service connection for hearing loss due to excessive noise exposure in service. Service connection for right ear hearing loss is not warranted, however, as the audiological evidence of record (the August 2015 private audiometry report and November 2015 VA examination report) does not show evidence of a current right ear hearing loss disability. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. Absent probative evidence of a current disability there can be no valid claim of service connection for right ear hearing loss. Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992). 2. Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus. The Veteran seeks service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus, which he claims are due to noise exposure in service, reporting he served in an artillery outfit where there was constant firing and he was not issued hearing protection. In November 2015, the Veteran underwent a VA audiology examination. His pure tone threshold values showed he had a left ear hearing loss disability pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, as well as a diagnosis of tinnitus. Service treatment records (STRs) are silent for complaints regarding hearing loss or tinnitus symptoms. The Veteran’s separation examination noted his ears were normal on clinical evaluation and his hearing was 15/15 for the whispered voice test. The separation examination did not include audiometric results. Service records also show the Veteran served in an artillery unit and he is competent to report noise exposure therein. The Board therefore finds that his reports of noise exposure are credible and consistent with the circumstances of service, and exposure to noise trauma in service is conceded. 38 U.S.C. § 1154(a). Regarding a nexus to service, the record contains both unfavorable and favorable evidence. In favor of the claim is the August 2015 opinion of a private audiologist, B.M., who conducted audiological testing on the Veteran and listed diagnoses of sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. B.M. noted the Veteran’s report of tinnitus and hearing loss, and his history of military noise exposure. B.M. noted that mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss was documented, and that his hearing loss was poorest at 4000 Hertz, which was consistent with noise exposure. Against the claim is the VA examination in November 2015, in which the examiner opined that the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss was not caused by or a result of service, citing for rationale that normal hearing was reported from enlistment through separation, and that the onset of hearing decrease was reported to be approximately 2 years ago, more than 40 years after separation. The examiner also noted there was no record of complaint or treatment of hearing loss at separation, and that although excessive noise exposure on active duty was conceded, there must be evidence of auditory damage on active duty to relate current hearing loss to noise in service. The examiner also noted for rationale that the Institute of Medicine (2006) panel concluded that a prolonged delay in the onset of noise-induced hearing loss was unlikely, and that there was objective evidence against a nexus in this case. The examiner also noted that the Veteran was unaware of hearing problems until he was told on a DOT examination two years prior that his hearing had decreased, approximately the same time as tinnitus onset. It was also noted that the Veteran had civilian occupational noise exposure as a truck driver, and that he used power and lawn tools without hearing protection. The examiner also opined tinnitus was a symptom associated with the hearing loss. The Board finds that neither opinion is entitled to more probative weight, and that the medical evidence is relative equipoise. The Board finds it is not possible to determine to what extent the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss and tinnitus may be attributed to noise exposure in service, and some doubt remains as to whether at least some of the left ear hearing loss and tinnitus may be attributable to service, as opposed to another cause. However, as reasonable doubt must be resolved in favor of the Veteran, service connection for left ear hearing loss and tinnitus is granted. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). (Continued on Next Page) A. ISHIZAWAR Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD D. Casula, Counsel