Citation Nr: 21066343 Decision Date: 10/29/21 Archive Date: 10/29/21 DOCKET NO. 16-11 896 DATE: October 29, 2021 ORDER Service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran had active service from January 1973 to August 1992. 2. A right ear hearing loss disorder for VA purposes has not been shown. CONCLUSION OF LAW A right ear hearing loss disorder was not incurred in service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5103(a), 5103A (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION In October 2018, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the transcript has been associated with the claims file. In June 2019, the Board denied the appeal. He appealed to the Veterans Claims Court. In August 2020, the Court Clerk granted a Joint Motion for Remand. The Board remanded the issue in February 2021. The RO made three attempts to get the records referenced by the Veteran but he did not respond. In August 2021, his representative submitted a waiver stating the Veteran had no further evidence to submit. The case has now been returned to the Board for further appellate action. Service connection may be granted on a direct basis as a result of disease or injury incurred in service based on nexus using a three-element test: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. See 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303 (a), (d); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Service connection may be granted on a presumptive basis for diseases listed in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309 under the following circumstances: (1) where a chronic disease or injury is shown in service and subsequent manifestations of the same disease or injury are shown at a later date unless clearly attributable to an intercurrent cause; or (2) where there is continuity of symptomatology since service; or (3) by showing that the disorder manifested itself to a degree of 10 percent or more within one year from the date of separation from service. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.307. Hearing loss is recognized by VA as a "chronic disease" under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a); therefore, the presumptive provisions of 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303 (b), 3.307, and 3.309 apply. Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013); Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258 (2015). Turning to the evidence, right ear hearing loss was not shown at any point during the appeal period. Hearing loss is considered a disability for VA purposes when the threshold level in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hertz (Hz) is 40 decibels or greater; when the thresholds for at least three of these frequencies 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. Turning to the medical evidence, at a May 2014 VA examination, the pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were reported as follows: HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 15 5 10 15 25 Maryland CNC word testing revealed speech discrimination scores of 98 percent in the right ear. As such, hearing loss for VA purposes was not shown in the right ear at that time. At a May 2018 VA examination, the pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were reported as follows: HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 20 10 15 15 30 Maryland CNC word testing revealed speech discrimination scores of 98 percent in the right ear. As such, hearing loss for VA purposes was not shown in the right ear at that time. At a September 2021 VA examination the pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were reported as follows: HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 15 10 15 15 30 Maryland CNC word testing revealed speech discrimination scores of 96 percent in the right ear. As such, hearing loss for VA purposes was not shown in the right ear at that time. Additional VA treatment records likewise showed no further audiological evaluations or complaints which would suggest worsening hearing loss. Thus, right ear hearing loss has not been shown at any time during the appeal period. The Board has considered the Veteran's lay statements that his disorder was caused by service. He is competent to report symptoms because this requires only personal knowledge as it comes to him through his senses. However, he is not competent to offer an opinion as to the etiology of his current disorder due to the medical complexity of the matter involved. Such competent evidence has been provided by the service records, clinical evidence, and examinations obtained and associated with the claims file. Here, the Board attaches greater probative weight to the clinical findings than to his statements. When a claimed condition is not shown, there may be no grant of service connection. See 38 U.S.C. § 1110; Rabideau v. Derwinski, 2 Vet. App. 141 (1992) (Congress specifically limits entitlement for service-connected disease or injury to cases where such incidents have resulted in a disability). "In the absence of proof of a present disability there can be no valid claim." See Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). Therefore, there is no basis on which to grant the claim for service connection for right ear hearing loss. The appeal is denied. Finally, the Veteran has not raised any other issues, nor have any other issues been reasonably raised by the record, for the Board's consideration. See Doucette v. Shulkin, 28 Vet. App. 366, 369-370 (2017) (confirming that the Board is not required to address issues unless they are specifically raised by the claimant or reasonably raised by the evidence of record). L. HOWELL Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Yacoub, 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.