Citation Nr: 20021668 Decision Date: 03/26/20 Archive Date: 03/26/20 DOCKET NO. 19-27 910 DATE: March 26, 2020 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran’s current left ear hearing loss had its onset during active military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the criteria for service connection for left ear hearing loss are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Airforce from September 1979 to January 1980. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal of a January 2019 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Service Connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Establishing service connection generally requires competent evidence of three things: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship, i.e., a nexus, between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the current disability. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Service connection may also be granted for a disease first diagnosed after discharge when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). When considering whether lay evidence may be competent, the Board must determine, on a case by case basis, whether the Veteran’s disability is the type of disability for which lay evidence may be competent. Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428 (2011); see also Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (holding that “[w]hether lay evidence is competent and sufficient in a particular case is a factual issue.”). In determining whether service connection is warranted for a disability, VA is responsible for determining whether the evidence supports the claim or is in relative equipoise, with the veteran prevailing in either event, or whether a preponderance of the evidence is against the claim, in which case the claim is denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). When there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding any issue material to the determination, the benefit of the doubt is afforded the claimant. Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss. The Veteran contends that his left ear hearing loss is caused by or related to acoustic trauma during service. The Veteran is currently service connected for right ear hearing loss and tinnitus. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 or 4000 Hertz are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The threshold for normal hearing is 0 to 20 decibels. Two audiological examination performed in November 2014 show the Veteran has left ear hearing loss for VA purposes. The evidence shows that the Veteran had significant exposure to loud noise and acoustic trauma during active military service. The Veteran’s DD 214 and service records indicate that his military occupational specialty (MOS) while in service was tactical aircraft maintenance specialist. The Veteran’s MOS is noted to have a high probability of hazardous noise exposure. The Veteran was provided a VA examination for VA examination for hearing loss and tinnitus in January 2019. The examiner found that the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss is at least as likely as not (50% probability) caused by or a result of an event in military service. The examiner stated that, based on the Veteran's report of hazardous noise, concession of high probability of noise exposure by the military, as well as the sound levels of the noises reported being well-documented for being hazardous to auditory systems, it is opined that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss is at least as likely as not due to military noise exposure. The Veteran is also considered competent to report experiencing a decrease in hearing during active military service. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). Moreover, the Veteran’s MOS and current diagnoses are consistent with a finding that his hearing disabilities had onset in service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. In considering the evidence discussed above, the Board finds that the evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran’s current left ear hearing loss had its onset during service. As the reasonable doubt created by this relative equipoise in the evidence must be resolved in favor of the Veteran, entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss is warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). John J. Crowley Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board E. E. VanValkenburg, 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.