Citation Nr: 21069706 Decision Date: 11/19/21 Archive Date: 11/19/21 DOCKET NO. 17-38 518 DATE: November 19, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's right ear hearing loss is related to exposure to loud noise during service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right ear hearing loss are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from September 1966 to March 1970. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2016 rating decision. The Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ) at a hearing in January 2021. A transcript of that hearing is of record. This matter was previously remanded by the Board in March 2021 and July 2021. A September 2021 rating decision granted service connection for left ear hearing loss, but not right ear hearing loss. 1. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss The Veteran contends that he has right ear hearing loss as a result of exposure to loud noise during service. 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). The reason the AOJ granted service connection for the left ear but not the right is that the October 2015 VA examination showed hearing loss for VA purposes in the left ear but not the right ear. The threshold for normal hearing is from 0 to 20 decibels, and higher threshold levels indicate some degree of hearing loss. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155 (1993). However, not all hearing loss constitutes hearing loss "disability" for VA purposes. To be considered a hearing loss disability for VA purposes, there must be evidence of impaired hearing that meets the criteria of 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. 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 October 2015 examination showed the auditory thresholds of 20 decibels at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hertz, 30 decibels at 3000 Hertz, and 35 at 4000 Hertz in the right ear. The Maryland CNC speech recognition score for the right ear was 96 percent. These findings do not meet the criteria for a hearing loss disability for VA purposes outlined above. However, the requirement of a current disability may be met if a disability is shown at any point during the pendency of the claim or recent to the filing of the claim. Romanowsky v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 289, 294 (2013); McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319, 321 (2007). A private audiogram from July 2016 does show a hearing loss disability for VA purposes. The July 2016 private audiogram shows auditory thresholds of 30 decibels at 500 Hertz, 20 decibels at 1000 Hertz, 25 decibels at 2000 Hertz, 30 decibels at 3000 Hertz, and 40 decibels at 4000 Hertz. The record thus reflects auditory thresholds of 26 or greater at three frequencies 500, 3000, and 4000 Hertz as well as an auditory threshold of 40 decibels at 4000 Hertz, which meet the requirements for a hearing loss disability for VA purposes according to 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran has stated that he believes his right ear hearing loss is the result of exposure to loud noise in service, including when the guns on the USS Mount McKinley were fired and when helicopters landed on the ship. An August 1968 commendation in the Veteran's personnel file indicates that the USS Mount McKinley participated in fourteen amphibious combat operations. The Veteran's service is thus consistent with his lay statements of exposure to the loud noise of a ship's guns being fired repeatedly in combat. The record contains a positive nexus opinion as to bilateral hearing loss. The September 2021 VA addendum opinion states that, based on the Veteran's reported history of military noise exposure and medals earned, the Veteran was likely exposed to noise levels adequate to cause a high frequency hearing loss. The VA clinician noted the Veteran was not allowed a frequency specific audiogram at separation, but that, based on the Veteran's lay testimony of onset during military service, his hearing loss is deemed at least as likely as not caused by or a result of military noise exposure. As the record contains evidence of a current disability of right ear hearing loss during the pendency of the claim, in-service exposure to loud noise, and a positive nexus between that in-service noise exposure and the current right ear hearing loss disability, the criteria for service connection for right ear hearing loss have been met. The Veteran's claim is thus granted. M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A. Budd, 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.