Citation Nr: A20002130 Decision Date: 02/27/20 Archive Date: 02/27/20 DOCKET NO. 190930-35973 DATE: February 27, 2020 ORDER Service connection for dementia as due to bilateral hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Veteran’s dementia was caused or aggravated by his service-connected bilateral hearing loss. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for dementia have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1966 to February 1967. On August 23, 2017, the President signed into law the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 115-55 (to be codified as amended in various sections of 38 U.S.C.), 131 Stat. 1105 (2017), also known as the Appeals Modernization Act (AMA). This law creates a new framework for Veterans dissatisfied with VA’s decision on their claim to seek review. This decision has been written consistent with the new AMA framework. The rating decision on appeal was issued in December 2019. The Veteran appealed the December 2019 rating decision to the Board and requested the option of a hearing with a Veterans’ Law Judge (VLJ). However, the Veteran withdrew his request for such a hearing. The Board finds the Veteran’s hearing request withdrawn. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(d). Service connection for dementia as due to bilateral hearing loss Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in-service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may also be granted for a disability that is proximately due to, or aggravated by, service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination of a matter, VA shall resolve reasonable doubt in favor of the claimant. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 4.3. In December 2019, the Veteran’s treating VA physician submitted a medical opinion which stated that she had been the Veteran’s primary care physician since August 2018. She further stated that the Veteran’s progressive frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder or dementia was due to and aggravated by his service connected bilateral hearing loss. The examiner also submitted a medical treatise which supported her opinion. In a December 2019 VA examination, the examiner found that the Veteran’s dementia was not at least as likely as not proximately due to or the result of the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss. Secondary service connection requires a finding that that the current disability was either caused by or aggravated by a service-connected disability. In the current matter, such a connection is supported by the evidence of record. The Veteran is service-connected for bilateral hearing loss and the Veteran’s primary care provider stated that the Veteran’s dementia was exacerbated by his bilateral hearing loss. The Board is aware of the December 2019 VA examination opinion, however, the Board finds that the evidence for and against the claim is at least in equipoise and, as such, reasonable doubt must be resolved in his favor. Accordingly, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that a grant of service connection for dementia, as secondary to his bilateral hearing loss, is warranted. David M. Gratz Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Parrish, 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.