Citation Nr: 21062693 Decision Date: 10/08/21 Archive Date: 10/08/21 DOCKET NO. 17-50 172 DATE: October 8, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. Entitlement to service connection for renal glycosuria is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The preponderance of the evidence is against finding that the Veteran has had a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes. 2. It is at least as likely as not that renal glycosuria is etiologically related to active service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. 2. The criteria for service connection for renal glycosuria are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran had active service in the Air Force from May 1971 to May 1972. The appeal originates from a July 2016 decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office. The matter was remanded in November 2019 for VA examinations with opinions, which were obtained in December 2019. It is noted that the remanded issue of service connection for tinnitus was granted in a July 2020 rating decision and is no longer before the Board. There has been substantial compliance with the Remand directives. Service Connection Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military, naval, or air service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after service when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Service connection for a disability requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) a disease or injury in service, and; (3) a relationship or nexus between the current disability and any injury or disease during service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Some chronic diseases may be presumed to have been incurred in service, if they become manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within the applicable presumptive period. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101 (3), 1112(a); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307 (a), 3.309(a). For those listed chronic conditions, a showing of continuity of symptoms affords an alternative route to service connection. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (b); Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F. 3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Hearing loss is a chronic disease under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 (e) with a presumptive period of one year. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The threshold for normal hearing is from 0 to 20 decibels. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 157 (1993). 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, 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 Veteran was afforded an examination in July 2016 and found not to have hearing loss for VA purposes in the right ear (including a speech recognition score of 96 percent based on the Maryland CNC Test). The left ear could not be tested due to poor inter-test reliability. The matter was remanded to ascertain whether he has a current hearing loss disability. He underwent another examination in December 2019 and was determined to have normal bilateral hearing for VA purposes, with speech recognition scores of 98 percent bilaterally based on the Maryland CNC Test. Service connection may only be granted for a current disability; when a claimed condition is not shown, there may be no grant of service connection. See 38 U.S.C. § 1131; Rabideau v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 141 (1992). In the absence of proof of a present disability, there can be no valid claim for service connection. See Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F.3d 1328 (1997); Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). The requirement that a current disability be present is satisfied when a claimant has a disability at the time a claim for VA disability compensation is filed or during the pendency of that claim, even if the disability resolves prior to the adjudication of the claim. See McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007). The preponderance of the evidence fails to establish a current diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes. The December 2019 examiner reviewed the record and considered the Veteran's lay statements and symptomology but determined that he did not have bilateral hearing loss for VA purposes based on the results of audiological testing. Similarly, the July 2016 examiner was unable to make a diagnosis of right ear hearing loss for VA purposes. The Veteran offers no medical evidence establishing a current disability per 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. Indeed, while he is competent to report his perception of having diminished hearing, the determination of whether hearing loss meets the threshold requirements under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 is a medical determination requiring professional training. The Veteran is not shown to possess that competency. Thus, in the absence of evidence of a current hearing loss disability, the claim must be denied. 2. Entitlement to service connection for renal glycosuria. A December 2019 endocrine diseases examination confirms a diagnosis of an endocrine condition - renal glycosuria. In that regard, the AOJ determined that renal glycosuria was merely a laboratory finding that did not correspond to being a disability for VA purposes. The Board disagrees. Notably, the December 2019 VA examiner indicated that renal glycosuria caused symptoms of frequent urination and a kidney stone. In Saunders v. Wilkie, the Federal Circuit found that the term "disability" as used in 38 U.S.C. § 1110 "refers to the functional impairment of earning capacity, not the underlying cause of said disability." See Saunders v. Wilkie, 886 F.3d 1356, 1367-68 (Fed. Cir. 2018). Frequent urination was observed to impact that the Veteran's ability to work, i.e. a disabling condition. Element (1) of Shedden is met. Service treatment records show that the Veteran was diagnosed with renal glycosuria on his May 1972 separation examination. A corresponding treatment record states that he had "renal glycosuria of uncertain etiology," and he was noted to have frequent urination with traces of sugar in urine on a contemporaneous report of medical history. This evidence is sufficient to meet Shedden element (2) with respect to an in-service disease. Regarding Shedden element (3) or a nexus, the examiner opined that renal glycosuria is at least as likely as not related to service. The examiner explained that the Veteran has a history of laboratory testing consistent with renal glycosuria. As there is a current disability, an in-service disease, and medical evidence of a nexus between the two, service connection for renal glycosuria is warranted. MICHAEL A. HERMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Alhinnawi 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.