Citation Nr: 21077496 Decision Date: 12/30/21 Archive Date: 12/29/21 DOCKET NO. 18-54 040 DATE: December 30, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is etiologically related to service. 2. The Veteran's tinnitus is etiologically related to service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for entitlement to service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from September 1963 to August 1966. He appeals a June 2017 rating decision denying entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. In July 2021, the Veteran testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript is of record. Service Connection Under 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b), the nexus requirement is relaxed for claims for chronic diseases enumerated in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a). To show a chronic disease in service, the record must contain a combination of manifestations sufficient to identify the disease entity, and sufficient observation to establish chronicity at the time. Certain chronic diseases will be presumed related to service if continuity of the same symptomatology has existed since service, with no intervening cause. Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1339 (Fed. Cir. 2012). Hearing loss and tinnitus are chronic diseases afforded the relaxed standard. Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258, 260 (2015). The disease must have become manifest to a degree of 10 percent or more within 1 year from the date of separation from service to qualify under the presumption. 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a). 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 (dB) or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the above frequencies are 26 dB or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran contends that his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are attributable to active service. After a review of the evidence, the Board finds that service connection is warranted for both disabilities. A review of the Veteran's service treatment record appears to show hearing loss at some higher frequencies. Specifically, a 20 decibel (dB) loss was shown at 6000 Hertz in the right ear. In the left ear, a 20 dB loss was shown at 4000 Hertz and a 35 dB loss was shown at 6000 Hertz. Interestingly, audiometric evaluation at separation showed normal hearing in both ears, with no dB loss measuring above 10 dB at any frequencies. At his May 2017 VA examination, he was diagnosed with tinnitus and audiometric evaluation showed bilateral hearing loss. As to continuity of symptoms after service, the evidentiary record does not contain any treatment for or complaints of any hearing related problems until the Veteran's May 2017 VA examination. At his July 2021 hearing, the Veteran testified in detail regarding continuous exposure to excessive noise during his years as an artillery crewman. Moreover, he asserted that although hearing protection was available at the time, it was not always available for use due to the nature of training. The Board observes that the Veteran is competent to describe his ongoing symptoms and in-service duties; his statements are credible in this regard. Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Veteran testified, "I don't recall having an exit audiogram and I don't trust the validity of it if there was one. Three years in the artillery certainly can't improve a person's hearing and I know when I left that I had worse hearing than when I entered the service." The Board affords significant probative weight to the statements made by the Veteran. Not only does the separation audio exam indicate improved hearing at some higher frequencies, but it also shows improved hearing in the Veteran's left ear at 500 Hertz. As such, the Board also questions the validity of the Veteran's exit audio examination. Based on the Veteran's credible statements, the Board finds that a continuity of symptoms since service has been established. As to nexus, the Veteran was afforded a VA examination in May 2017. The examiner opined that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is less likely than not due to or caused by an event during military service because pure-tone thresholds were within normal limits at time of induction and separation and comparison of enlistment and discharge audiograms showed no evidence of a significant degradation in pure-tone threshold. However, the examiner's opinion is based on a separation audio examination that the Board has already identified as suspect. As such, the Board affords minimal weight to the opinion rendered by the July 2017 VA examiner. On the other hand, the Veteran submitted a private medical opinion from September 2021, attesting to a link between his hearing loss and active service. The physician opined that, upon taking into consideration the nature of the Veteran's in-service duties and his type of hearing loss, that it is at least as likely as not that his hearing loss is related to service. The Board affords significant weight to the opinion rendered by the private examiner's opinion. It was rendered by a qualified medical professional and is not discredited by any negative evidence of record. Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that a nexus has been established in this case. In summation, the preponderance of the medical and lay evidence indicates that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss began in service and continues to the present. Accordingly, service connection is warranted and the claim is granted. As for the Veteran's tinnitus, the Board notes that it is a disorder uniquely discernable by the senses. Here, the Veteran reported at his July 2021 hearing that his tinnitus began in service and continued thereafter up to the present day. The Board finds the Veteran's statements in this regard highly probative and credible. Because the Veteran is credible in his report that his tinnitus began in service and continued thereafter, and because tinnitus is capable of lay observation, service connection for the condition is warranted. 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. B.T. KNOPE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Daniel Ballinger, Associate Counsel