Citation Nr: 21006958 Decision Date: 02/08/21 Archive Date: 02/08/21 DOCKET NO. 17-13 993A DATE: February 8, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability in the left ear for VA purposes. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1113, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.304, 3.385 (2019). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from November 1972 to November 1975. In October 2018, the Veteran and her spouse testified at a Travel Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. Service Connection for Left Ear Hearing Loss Direct service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Direct service connection generally requires credible and competent evidence showing: (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. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). The Veteran has not submitted evidence that she has left ear hearing loss which is of a sufficient severity to meet the VA definition of a disability. For VA purposes, 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 Veteran underwent a VA examination in December 2009. See December 2009 VA Examination, pp. 1-4. At the time, none of her left ear scores was higher than 20 decibels at any of the relevant frequencies and her left ear speech recognition score was 100. The Veteran submitted an October 2013 test administered by a non-VA clinician, but the puretone threshold results are not decipherable and the left ear speech recognition score is greater than 94. See April 2017 Private Treatment Records, p. 2. In July 2017, an audiological examination was administered by a VA clinician but there is a comment on the results that indicate that the results are not adequate for rating purposes. See August 2020 VA Treatment Records, p. 4. Most recently, the Veteran underwent an audiological examination in October 2019. Her left ear test results did not show an auditory threshold of 40 decibels or higher at any of the relevant frequencies, auditory thresholds of 26 decibels or more for at least three of the relevant frequencies, or a speech discrimination score of less than 94. See July 2020 CAPRI, p. 17. In light of the evidence, the Board finds that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA purposes and the first element of service connection has not been established. See Holton, 557 F.3d at 1366. In the absence of a current disability, the evidence preponderates against the claim and there is no reasonable doubt to be resolved. Accordingly, service connection for left ear hearing loss must be denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102; Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). A. S. CARACCIOLO Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board W.V. Walker, 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.