Citation Nr: 21007129 Decision Date: 02/08/21 Archive Date: 02/08/21 DOCKET NO. 16-56 894 DATE: February 8, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have right ear hearing loss as defined by VA regulations. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right ear hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1154(a), 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from April 2006 to April 2009. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2010 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). This matter was previously before the Board in February 2019, at which time the claims for service connection for bilateral knee condition, back condition, post-traumatic stress disorder and bilateral hearing loss were remanded. The claims were subsequently granted in a December 2020 rating decision, with the exception of right ear hearing loss. Service connection for left ear hearing loss was granted at a noncompensable rate. Thus, the issue of service connection for right ear hearing loss remains before the Board. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss The Veteran reported that his right ear feels clogged and sounds muffled due to a perforated ear drum during deployment. 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). For VA purposes, impaired hearing will be considered a disability when the auditory threshold for any of the frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; the auditory thresholds for at least three of these frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The threshold for normal hearing is between 0 and 20 decibels and higher thresholds show some degree of hearing loss. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 157 (1993). On the audiological evaluation in February 2020, pure tone thresholds for the right ear, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 25 25 20 25 25 Speech audiometry revealed speech recognition ability of 98 percent in the right ear. A review of the VA examination shows that the Veteran did not have a diagnosis of right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. While the Veteran is competent to report symptoms of decreased hearing acuity in his ears, he is not competent to provide a diagnosis of a right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes, as that requires medical testing. For a disability to be service connected, it must be present at the time a claim for VA disability compensation is filed or during or contemporary to the pendency of the claim. McClain v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 319 (2007); Romanowsky v. Shinseki, 26 Vet. App. 289 (2013). While VA treatment records in June 2014 show a general notation of hearing loss under review of symptoms, there was no audiological evaluation or puretone thresholds tested. Furthermore, VA treatment records in June 2018 show the Veteran denied hearing loss. Thus, there is no evidence of record showing the Veteran has right ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes during the pendency of the claim, or proximate thereto. Congress has specifically limited entitlement to service-connected benefits to cases where there is a current disability. In the absence of proof of a present disability, there can be no valid claim. Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992). (Continued on the next page)   Accordingly, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim and entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss disability is not warranted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b) (2012); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). MICHAEL E. KILCOYNE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board B. Jaigirdar, 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.