Citation Nr: 21012895 Decision Date: 03/05/21 Archive Date: 03/05/21 DOCKET NO. 17-11 520 DATE: March 5, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran has a current diagnosis of right ear hearing loss, and exposure to in-service hazardous noise is conceded. 2. Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the current right ear hearing loss is directly related to his in-service noise exposure. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right ear hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from November 1967 to July 1969. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2014 rating decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In February 2021, the Veteran testified at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge (VLJ). Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss The Veteran seeks service connection for right ear hearing loss. For the reasons that follow, the Board finds that service connection is warranted. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. 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, 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 has a current diagnosis of right ear sensorineural hearing loss. See, e.g., July 2014 VA examination report. Objective test results confirm his hearing loss is considered a disability for VA purposes. Id.; 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran contends his hearing loss is related to excessive noise exposure during military service. He asserts that he served as field artillery crewman and was exposed to loud noises. He stated that he was caught in front of a howitzer when a blast went out. Review of his service records confirms that he served as a field artillery crewman. The nature of this service has a high probability of hazardous noise exposure. Accordingly, in-service exposure to hazardous noise is conceded. The Veteran underwent a VA examination in July 2014. The examiner, in relevant part, diagnosed right ear sensorineural hearing loss and opined it was less likely than not related to his active service because there were no significant threshold shifts when comparing the audiograms at the time of enlistment and separation for the right ear. In February 2021, the Veteran testified before the undersigned VLJ. He reported that he first began to notice decreased hearing during and immediately after active service. He stated that he worked as a machinist for 40 years after his discharge, but that he was not exposed to loud noise during machinist work. The Veteran is competent to relate such readily observable symptoms, see 38 C.F.R. § 3.159 (a)(2), and there is nothing obvious of record to impugn is credibility. The Board finds nexus evidence in relative equipoise. The July 2014 VA medical opinion is unfavorable, but probative. The Veteran’s competent and credible statements also support a nexus insofar as they show he first noticed hearing loss during active service with continuity thereafter, and was not subject to an intercurrent event (i.e. he credibly denied exposure to loud noises as the result of his machinist work after discharge). Resolving any and all reasonable doubt in his favor regarding casual nexus, the Board finds that his current right ear sensorineural hearing loss is related to in-service hazardous noise exposure. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102, 3.303(b). Service connection for right ear hearing loss is warranted. D. JOHNSON Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board D. Lauritzen, 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.