Citation Nr: 21006630 Decision Date: 02/04/21 Archive Date: 02/04/21 DOCKET NO. 18-06 407 DATE: February 4, 2021 ORDER Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Service connection for tinnitus is granted. REMANDED Service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is remanded. Service connection for a neurological disorder is remanded. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, his bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure. 2. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, his tinnitus is at least as likely as not related to in-service noise exposure. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 1133, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.302, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 1133, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.302, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REFERRED The issue of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability was raised at a November 2020 hearing and in a November 2020 statement and is referred to the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) for adjudication. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served honorably on active duty in the United States Army from September 1977 to September 1980. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2016 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Veteran attended a virtual hearing before the undersigned in November 2020. Service Connection Hearing Loss and Tinnitus Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. To establish service connection for a disability, a Veteran must show: (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 or aggravated during service. Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). For VA purposes, impaired hearing is considered disabling when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 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. Certain chronic diseases 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). The Veteran contends that his hearing loss is due to in-service noise exposure. For the following reasons, the Board agrees. The Veteran has hearing loss for VA purposes and a current diagnosis of tinnitus. The Veteran’s military occupation specialty was helicopter repairman and was exposed to loud noises during service. The Board finds this to satisfy the first two elements for service connection. Regarding the third element, medical nexus, the evidence consists of a March 2016 VA examination and the Veteran’s testimony. The examiner opined that the Veteran’s hearing loss and tinnitus were less likely than not due to military service noise exposure. The rationale was because the Veteran had normal hearing at separation from service, that there were no complaints of hearing loss or tinnitus during service, and the first recorded complaint of tinnitus is in June 2015. The Board has assigned less weight to the VA examiner’s March 2016 opinion. See Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 160 (1993) (Even though there is no hearing loss disability shown at separation from service, service connection may nevertheless be established by showing that any present hearing loss disability is related to service). In contrast, the Veteran has provided competent and credible testimony regarding the continuity of his hearing loss and tinnitus. At his November 2020 hearing, the Veteran testified that he started noticing problems with his hearing during service. He stated this started with tinnitus and then noticed that his hearing had declined. Though the Veteran testified that he was exposed to loud noises in 2000 and 2003, he said that by then he already had hearing loss. The Veteran also testified that his hearing loss has progressively gotten worse since his service. The Board finds the evidence to be in relative equipoise. Accordingly, service connection for hearing loss and tinnitus based on continuity of symptomatology is granted. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b). REASONS FOR REMAND PTSD At his November 2020 hearing, the Veteran reported witnessing a servicemember walk into the running tail rotor of a helicopter. An attempt should be made to corroborate the Veteran’s reported stressor. Neurological Disorder No VA examiner has opined whether the Veteran’s essential tremors of his hands are related to his military service. In June 2016, the Veteran reported he was experiencing persisitent hand tremors and was assessed with essential hand tremors. The Veteran’s service treatment records document that in October 1979 the Veteran reported numbness in the first three fingers of his left hand. A VA examination is necessary. McLendon v. Nicholson, 20 Vet. App. 79, 82–83 (2006).   The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the Veteran’s VA treatment records for the period from November 2017 to the Present. 2. Attempt to corroborate the Veteran’s in-service stressor, including witnessing a servicemember being injured by the tail rotor of a helicopter. If more details are needed, contact the Veteran to request the information. 3. Schedule an examination to determine the nature and etiology of any essential hand tremors. The claims file should be made available to the examiner. The examiner must opine with complete rationale whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent or greater) that the Veteran’s essential hand tremors are related to an in-service report of numbness in his left hand. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Michael Chandeck, 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.