Citation Nr: 19106981 Decision Date: 02/01/19 Archive Date: 01/29/19 DOCKET NO. 17-14 148 DATE: February 1, 2019 ORDER Entitlement to a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s hearing loss was manifested by no worse than level V in the right ear and level IV in the left ear. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a rating in excess of 10 percent for bilateral hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.85, 4.86 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from October 1954 to January 1957. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2015 rating decision issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Nashville, Tennessee. Increased Ratings Disability evaluations are determined by evaluating the extent to which a veteran’s service-connected disability adversely affects his or her ability to function under the ordinary conditions of daily life, including employment, by comparing his or her symptomatology with the criteria set forth in the Schedule for Rating Disabilities. The percentage ratings represent as far as can practicably be determined the average impairment in earning capacity resulting from such diseases and injuries and the residual conditions in civilian occupations. Generally, the degrees of disability specified by the schedule are considered adequate to compensate veterans for considerable loss of working time from exacerbation or illness proportionate to the severity of the several grades of disability. See 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. § 4.1. Separate diagnostic codes identify the various disabilities and the criteria for specific ratings. If two disability evaluations are potentially applicable, the higher evaluation will be assigned to the disability picture that more nearly approximates the criteria required for that rating. Otherwise, the lower rating will be assigned. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.7. Any reasonable doubt regarding the degree of disability will be resolved in favor of the veteran. 38 C.F.R. § 4.3. In general, when an increase in the disability rating is at issue, it is the present level of disability that is of primary concern. See Francisco v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 55, 58 (1994). However, staged ratings are also appropriate in any increased rating claim in which distinct time periods with different ratable symptoms can be identified. Hart v. Mansfield, 21 Vet. App. 505 (2007). The analysis in this decision is, therefore, undertaken with consideration of the possibility that different ratings may be warranted for different time periods. Bilateral Hearing Loss Ratings for defective hearing range from 0 percent to 100 percent, based on organic impairment of hearing acuity as measured by the results of controlled speech discrimination tests, together with the average hearing threshold level as measured by pure tone audiometry tests in the frequencies of 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz. To rate the degree of disability from service-connected hearing loss, the rating schedule establishes eleven auditory acuity levels ranging from numeric level I for essentially normal acuity, through numeric level XI for profound deafness. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Tables VI and VII, Diagnostic Code 6100. When the puretone threshold at each of the four specified frequencies (1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz ) is 55 decibels or more, Table VI or Table VIa is to be used, whichever results in the higher numeral, to determine the Roman numeral designation for hearing impairment. 38 C.F.R. § 4.86(a). Additionally, when the puretone threshold is 30 decibels or less at 1000 Hertz, and 70 decibels or more at 2000 Hertz, Table VI or Table VIa is to be used, whichever results in the higher numeral. That numeral will be elevated to the next higher numeral. 38 C.F.R. § 4.86(b). The Veteran received a VA audiological examination in July 2015. Audiometric testing revealed pure tone thresholds, in decibels, as follows: HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 40 65 65 75 LEFT 35 70 70 70 The average decibel loss in the right ear was 61; the average decibel loss in the left ear was 61. Speech audiometry revealed speech recognition ability of 88 percent in the right ear and of 72 in the left ear. The Veteran received another VA audiological examination in May 2018. Audiometric testing revealed pure tone thresholds, in decibels, as follows: HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 50 80 80 85 LEFT 45 75 75 80 The average decibel loss in the right ear was 74; the average decibel loss in the left ear was 69. Speech audiometry revealed speech recognition ability of 80 percent in the right ear and of 76 in the left ear. The results of the July 2015 VA examination correlate to level III hearing in the right ear and level IV hearing in the left ear. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Table VI. The combination of level III and level IV corresponds to a 10 percent disability rating. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Table VII. The results of the May 2018 VA examination also correlate to level V hearing in the right ear and level IV in the left ear. The combination of level V and level IV also corresponds to a 10 percent disability rating. The ratings for disability compensation for hearing loss are determined by the mechanical application of the criteria in Table VI and Table VII. Lendenmann v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 345 (1992). While on examination in 2015, it was noted that the Veteran’s hearing loss impacted the ordinary conditions of daily life, this notation was based on the Veteran’s comments. Additionally, the impact was described as the Veteran wears hearing aids and reports difficulty with hearing and understanding conversational speech. The Board notes that the currently assigned 10 percent rating compensates for such impairment. It is also noted that on examination in 2018, the examiner noted that the Veteran’s hearing loss does not impact the ordinary conditions of daily life, including his ability to work. Consequently, the Board concludes that the evidence of record does not support a rating in excess of 10 percent for the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss. C. CRAWFORD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD A. Daniels, Associate Counsel