Citation Nr: 21069855 Decision Date: 11/22/21 Archive Date: 11/22/21 DOCKET NO. 16-46 392 DATE: November 22, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT At no point during the appellate period has the Veteran experienced a current hearing loss disability in the right ear for VA compensation purposes. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from April 1977 to December 1988, from September 1989 to December 1999, and from May 2003 to September 2007. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an April 2016 rating decision issued by a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Veteran presented sworn testimony at a virtual hearing before the undersigned in June 2021. A transcript of that hearing is of record. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss A foundational requirement for entitlement to service connection for hearing loss is that the Veteran experiences a current disability within the appellate period, as defined by VA regulations. Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, hearing loss is considered a disability for VA compensation purposes when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hertz (Hz) is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hz are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. According to VA audiological examinations conducted within the appellate period, the Veteran has never experienced right ear hearing loss under the definition set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 during the pendency of the claim. A January 2016 VA examination reveals that the Veteran reported difficulty hearing conversations and certain sounds due to hearing difficulties. 38 C.F.R. § 4.10; Martinak v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 447 (2007). The Veteran's Maryland CNC Word List speech recognition score and pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were as follows: January 2016 HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 Avg (1000-4000) CNC RIGHT 20 20 25 30 35 27.5 100% The Veteran, or his representative, indicated service connection should be granted based on the average decibel loss. See May 2016 Notice of Disagreement. This, however, is not the standard for determining hearing loss for VA compensation purposes. The Veteran must have the auditory threshold of 40 decibels or greater; or have the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hz at 26 decibels or greater. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran also indicated at the May 2021 Board hearing that his hearing was deteriorating while he was still in the Army. Upon a thorough review of the Veteran's Service Treatment Records (STR), this loss has not been shown. To illustrate, the Veteran's audiogram during a February 1979 flight physical is as follows: February 1979 HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 5 20 20 -- 10 This is compared to a February 1994 audiogram: February 1994 HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 15 10 20 15 -- Finally, a January 2005 audiogram: January 2005 HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 10 15 10 10 15 There are several other audiograms of record; however, none of these results demonstrate a positive threshold shift, or hearing loss for VA compensation purposes under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Board acknowledges the Veteran's complaints of hearing loss. The Veteran is considered competent to describe his perception of diminished hearing acuity because lay testimony is competent to establish the presence of observable symptomatology. Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 469 (1994). However, even to the extent the Veteran would be competent to report diminished hearing acuity during the appellate period, he would not be competent to diagnose right ear hearing loss for VA compensation purposes, as such a determination would require both objective audiometric and/or speech recognition testing, which the Veteran could not perform on himself. (Continued on the next page) Based on the foregoing, the issue of entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied because the Veteran has not experienced a right ear hearing disability for VA compensation purposes at any time during the appellate period. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385; see Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). Cynthia M. Bruce Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Nelson, Associate 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.