Citation Nr: 18121663
Decision Date: 07/26/18	Archive Date: 07/26/18

DOCKET NO. 16-37 658
DATE:	July 26, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran has been diagnosed with tinnitus which has been linked to his in-service acoustic trauma.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus have been met.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from August 1961 to August 1963.
Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus.
The Veteran contends that he experiences tinnitus as a result of in-service acoustic trauma to include artillery noises.
The Board concludes that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of tinnitus as the result of his active service.  38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a).
VA and private treatment records reflect that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of tinnitus.  In a September 2014 statement, he reported that he experienced tinnitus in service and explained that he did not report for treatment because he believed “there was nothing they could do about it.”  He also stated that the “ringing in his ears” had continued and intensified since service.  In October 2014, the Veteran submitted an opinion from a private audiologist observing that “extreme noise is known to cause tinnitus.”  The private audiologist provided an opinion that his tinnitus was more likely than not related to his artillery service.  Although an April 2015 VA examiner stated that she could not provide an opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran’s tinnitus without resulting to speculation, she acknowledged the Veteran’s subjective report of tinnitus onset during service.  
Given the acknowledged in-service acoustic trauma, the Veteran’s credible lay observations of when his tinnitus began, and the positive private medical opinion, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is in favor of the appeal.  Service connection for tinnitus is granted.
 
Nathaniel J. Doan
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	Jebby Rasputnis