Citation Nr: 21001369 Decision Date: 01/07/21 Archive Date: 01/07/21 DOCKET NO. 17-28 850A DATE: January 7, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability is remanded. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus, to include as secondary to a bilateral hearing loss disability, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from November 1957 to October 1959. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from rating decisions issued in June 2015 and October 2015 by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). By way of background, the RO denied entitlement to service connection for left and right ear hearing loss in June 2015 and service connection for tinnitus in October 2015. The Veteran separately and timely perfected appeals of both denials to the Board. 38 C.F.R. § 19.52. The Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) in November 2020. A transcript of the hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus. The Veteran was provided with a VA examination in August 2015. The examiner stated that the noted hearing loss and tinnitus was less likely than not related to the Veteran’s service, as the Veteran’s military occupational specialty had a low probability of noise exposure and there was no evidence of complaints of hearing loss or tinnitus in service. However, the examiner did not consider as part of his opinion that the Veteran reported noise exposure in service from helicopters and ship mounted guns. Dalton v. Peake, 21 Vet. App. 23 (2007) (stating that a medical opinion is inadequate if it does not take into account the Veteran’s reports of symptoms and history even if recorded in the course of the examination). Further, the examiner at least in part relied on the absence of treatment in service for hearing loss and tinnitus. Id. As such, the opinion is inadequate for adjudicatory purposes and a remand is necessary so that a new opinion concerning the etiology of the hearing loss and tinnitus may be obtained. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Schedule the Veteran for a VA examination to determine the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s hearing loss and tinnitus. The examiner should answer the following: a) Is it at least as likely as not (a fifty percent probability or greater) that the bilateral hearing loss is causally related to the Veteran’s active service? b) Is it at least as likely as not (a fifty percent probability or greater) that the tinnitus is causally related to the Veteran’s active service? c) Is it at least as likely as not (a fifty percent probability or greater) that the tinnitus was caused by the bilateral hearing loss? d) If not, is it at least as likely as not (a fifty percent probability or greater) that the tinnitus was aggravated (worsened) by the bilateral hearing loss? In answering questions (a) and (b), attention is invited to the Veteran’s November 2020 hearing testimony concerning exposure to noise from helicopters and ship mounted guns, as well as his reports of experiencing ear pain during submarine school. A detailed rationale for the opinion must be provided. The examiner is reminded that the term “as likely as not” does not mean “within the realm of medical possibility,” but rather that the evidence of record is so evenly divided that, in the examiner’s expert opinion, it is as medically sound to find in favor of the proposition as against it. LESLEY A. REIN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board C. Wendell, 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.