Citation Nr: 20004489 Decision Date: 01/21/20 Archive Date: 01/21/20 DOCKET NO. 10-40 125 DATE: January 21, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT Affording the Veteran the benefit of the doubt, his right ear hearing loss is causally related to military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from February 1981 to May 1984. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss The Veteran contends that his right ear hearing loss is causally related to his service. Resolving all doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds that the Veteran has right ear hearing loss that is related to service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155 (1993); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303(a), 3.385. The Veteran’s records show that while he was in active service his military occupational specialty was a radio teletype operator. However, as discussed in the Board’s June 2016 remand the Veteran also completed a basic airborne course and earned a parachutist badge which is presumed to have exposed him to hazardous noise due to close proximity to aircraft engines. The Veteran’s service treatment records (STRs) are silent for any complaints of hearing loss. The Veteran’s enlistment examination appears to be his December 1980 airborne examination. When compared to his January 1984 Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) examinations there a threshold shift, albeit non-significant in the Veteran’s hearing. The Veteran is service-connected for his left ear hearing loss disability. However, VA examinations prior to September 2019, have not shown a right ear hearing loss disability VA compensation purposes under 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.385. In the September 2019 VA examination, the Veteran’ right ear hearing loss yielded results that meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The examiner provided a negative opinion because there was no significant threshold shift during service. The examiner further opined that “[a]lthough noise exposure is conceded and the relationship of noise, auditory damage and hearing loss is well-established, auditory damage and hearing loss are not conceded based on noise alone.” The Veteran submitted a written statement with his January 2010 notice of disagreement (NOD) that as a radio teletype operator, he had to wear headphones on a continuous basis that amplified noises directly into both of his ears. The Board notes that the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss was granted service connection by an April 2017 Board decision under the same circumstances that the Veteran claiming entitlement to service connection for his right ear hearing loss disability. The Board did not grant his right ear hearing loss disability based on the Veteran not meeting the disability criteria for VA compensation purposes under 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.385. The Veteran was exposed to hazardous noise from aircraft during active service when he attended airborne training. The Veteran has submitted statements that he has experienced hearing loss in both ears since service and if the delayed onset occurred because he didn’t notice the hearing loss until later. The Board finds the Veteran’s lay-testimony and statements of hazardous noise exposure and hearing loss during service to be credible despite the lack of treatment records documenting in-service hearing loss. In summary, the competent and credible evidence is at least in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran incurred right ear hearing loss during service and has had hearing loss symptoms since then. The benefit of the doubt is resolved in the Veteran’s favor; service connection for left ear hearing loss must be granted. Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990); 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. G. Perkins, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.