Citation Nr: 21000127 Decision Date: 01/04/21 Archive Date: 01/04/21 DOCKET NO. 19-27 293 DATE: January 4, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT At no point during the appeal has the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss resulted in impairment greater than level II for the right ear and level III for the left ear. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for an initial compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss have not been met. See 38 U.S.C. § 1155; 38 C.F.R. §§ 4.85, 4.86. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably in the Air Force from November 1963 to October 1967.   This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a January 2016 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) that denied service connection for right ear hearing loss and granted service connection for left ear hearing loss at 0 percent effective August 21, 2014 (date of claim). In February 2020, the Board granted service connection for the Veteran’s right ear hearing loss. The claim for an increased rating for left ear hearing loss was remanded due to service connection being granted for his right ear hearing loss. A VA examination (VAX) to determine the severity of his bilateral hearing loss. In a July 2020 rating decision, the Veteran’s right ear hearing loss was combined with his left ear hearing loss. The noncompensable rating was continued. In an October 2020 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC), an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for bilateral hearing loss was denied. Increased Rating Evaluations of defective hearing range from noncompensable to 100 percent based on organic impairment of hearing acuity as measured by the results of a controlled Maryland CNC speech discrimination test together with the average hearing threshold level measured by pure tone audiometry tests in the frequencies of 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 cycles per second (Hertz). See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Diagnostic Code 6100. To evaluate the degree of disability from bilateral service-connected hearing loss, the schedule establishes 11 auditory hearing acuity levels designated from Level I for essentially normal hearing acuity through Level XI for profound deafness. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Tables VI and VII.   An exceptional pattern of hearing impairment occurs when the pure tone threshold at each of the four specified frequencies (1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz) is 55 decibels or more. 38 C.F.R. § 4.86(a). In that situation, the rating specialist will determine the Roman numeral designation for hearing impairment from either Table VI or Table VIA, whichever results in the higher numeral. Further, when the average pure tone threshold is 30 decibels or less at 1000 Hertz, and 70 decibels or more at 2000 Hertz, the rating specialist will determine the Roman numeral designation for hearing impairment from either Table VI or Table VIA, whichever results in the higher numeral, and that numeral will then be elevated to the next higher numeral. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.86 (b). In a January 2016 VAX, the Veteran’s Maryland CNC Word List speech recognition score and pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were as follows: 1000 Hz 2000 Hz 3000 Hz 4000 Hz Average Maryland CNC Table VI Right Ear 15 30 45 55 36.25 100 I Left Ear 35 65 90 90 70 96 II Applying the results to Table VI, the findings yield a numeric designation of Level I in the right ear and Level II in the left ear. Entering the resulting bilateral numeric designation, of Level I for the right ear and Level II for the left ear to 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Table VII, equates to a 0 percent disability rating under Diagnostic Code 6100. An exceptional pattern of hearing impairment under 38 C.F.R. § 4.86 was not shown. In an October 2020 VAX, the Veteran reported that his bilateral hearing loss interferes with understanding what is said and people need to repeat things to him. His Maryland CNC Word List speech recognition score and pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were as follows: 1000 Hz 2000 Hz 3000 Hz 4000 Hz Average Maryland CNC Table VI Right Ear 25 40 55 60 45 86 II Left Ear 35 75 105 105+ 80 90 III Applying the results to Table VI, the findings yield a numeric designation of Level II in the right ear and Level III in the left ear. Entering the resulting bilateral numeric designation, of Level II for the right ear and Level III for the left ear to 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, Table VII, equates to a 0 percent disability rating under Diagnostic Code 6100. An exceptional pattern of hearing impairment under 38 C.F.R. § 4.86 was not shown. No other audio examinations have been submitted for this time period. Treatment records do not reflect any disparate findings. To the extent that the Veteran argues his hearing loss was more severe than represented by the VAXs, he does not have either the education or training to offer a medical opinion challenging the adequacy of the testing, and as there is no competent evidence of record to support that his hearing loss was, in fact, more severe than indicated on examination, the Veteran’s assertions are not probative. See Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465 (1994), Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F. 3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The most probative medical evidence as to the severity of the Veteran’s hearing loss for the period discussed herein are audiometric findings shown on the VAXs. Those reveal that the Veteran’s hearing loss did not warrant a compensable rating. As noted above, disability ratings for hearing loss are derived from a mechanical application of the rating schedule to the numeric designations resulting from audiometric testing, and here that yields a noncompensable evaluation. The Board notes the Veteran’s report in the 2020 VA examination that he cannot hear normal sounds, to include voices, and that he often has to ask people to repeat themselves. The functional impact that the Veteran describes, is contemplated by the rating criteria. Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet. App. 366 (2017). The Veteran’s main complaint is reduced hearing acuity and clarity, which is what is contemplated in the rating assigned. See Rossy v. Shulkin, 29 Vet. App. 142, 145 (2017). Based on the evidence above, a compensable rating for the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss is not warranted. MICHAEL A. HERMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board S. Smith, 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.