Citation Nr: 21068245 Decision Date: 11/09/21 Archive Date: 11/09/21 DOCKET NO. 18-42 663 DATE: November 9, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss began in service and has continued since service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from December 1964 to December 1969 and from April 1970 to July 1972, followed by service in the United States Naval Reserves. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a June 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ). Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. The three-element test for service connection requires evidence of: (1) a current disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the current disability and the in service disease or injury. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Certain chronic diseases, such as sensorineural hearing loss, will be presumed related to service if they were shown as chronic in service; or, if they manifested to a compensable degree within a presumptive period following separation from service; or, if they were noted in service, with continuity of symptomatology since service that is attributable to the chronic disease. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2013). 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 June 2017 examination found the Veteran had bilateral hearing loss considered to be a disability for VA purposes. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran submitted a July 2017 letter and an August 2018 VA Form 9 detailing his in-service noise exposure. The Veteran served as a pilot in service. He stated that he flew a number of aircraft off aircraft carrier decks. He wrote that the cockpits were very noisy, and he had difficulty hearing conversations over the intercom system even when shouting. In addition, he noted the flight deck itself was a very loud and dangerous place to work and required him to turn his radio up to maximum volume to hear instructions. While he was issued earplugs, he stated that they did not help very much with the noise of the aircraft engine. He stated the during his hearing tests, he held his breath and pressed hard on the earphones in order to do well. The Board finds the Veteran's statements credible and probative as to his exposure to hazardous noise during service and as to symptoms of some level of hearing loss during service. As the evidence indicates that the Veteran experienced hearing loss in service and has had continuous symptoms of hearing loss since service, continuity of symptomatology is established. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.303 The June 2017 VA examiner opined that it is not at least as likely as not that the Veteran's current hearing loss condition was related to his military service. He stated that comparison of the Veteran's induction and separation examinations indicated no significant change in hearing sensitivity, and a threshold shift in hearing could not be established from the audiometric data. The rationale the examiner provided is inadequate as it relies solely on a lack of hearing loss in service. See Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 157 (1993). Additionally, the examiner did not have access to the Veteran's statements regarding in-service noise exposure and his statements that he held his breath and pressed hard on the earphones in order to do well on his in-service hearing tests. Therefore, the Board finds this opinion of limited probative value. (Continued on the next page) As the probative evidence of record supports that the Veteran's hearing loss began in service and has continued since, entitlement to service connection is warranted. Accordingly, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board grants entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. Tiffany Dawson Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board N. Patrick, 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.