Citation Nr: 21015041 Decision Date: 03/16/21 Archive Date: 03/16/21 DOCKET NO. 11-17 739 DATE: March 16, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The evidence does not demonstrate that the Veteran has hearing impairment in either ear within the meaning of VA regulations. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 5107(b) (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.385 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the Air Force from January 1997 to January 2008. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2009 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In February 2018 and June 2020, the Board remanded the Veteran’s appeal to the RO for further evidentiary development. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss The Veteran asserts that he has bilateral hearing loss as a result of his military service. The first question for the Board is whether the Veteran has a current diagnosis of hearing loss. Impaired hearing is considered a disability for VA purposes when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels (dB) or greater or where the auditory thresholds for at least three of these frequencies are 26 dB or greater or when the Maryland CNC speech recognition scores are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran contended in his September 2008 Statement in Support of Claim that he has hearing loss which onset during service. He repeated this statement in a July 2017 Appellate Brief. The Veteran’s VA treatment records show no evidence of impaired hearing. In a June 2009 C&P Examination Note, the physician stated that the Veteran’s “hearing appears normal.” Based on the Veteran’s claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, a disability benefits questionnaire for hearing loss and tinnitus was prepared in October 2019. The clinician reported “poor response reliability, poor speech recognition threshold/ pure tone audiometry agreement.” The examiner noted that test results were not valid for rating purposes. In August 2020, pursuant to the Board’s remand directive, the RO requested that the Veteran complete a VA Form 21-4142 for any private medical records. The Veteran did not respond. A new disability benefits questionnaire was completed in October 2020. Pure tone thresholds, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 RIGHT 5 5 5 5 10 LEFT 5 5 10 5 10 Speech audiometry revealed speech recognition ability of 96 percent in the right ear and of 98 percent in the left ear. The clinician noted the Veteran’s reports of hazardous noise exposure in service but concluded that his current hearing was normal. At the time of the October 2020 VA examination, the Veteran did not have a hearing loss disability in either ear for VA purposes. The objective audiometric findings reflect that the Veteran does not have a current hearing loss disability for VA purposes in the right ear or the left ear. Until such findings show hearing loss that meets the criteria for a disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385, there can be no entitlement to service connection. See Degmetich v. Brown, 104 F.3d 1328 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223, 225 (1992). The Board acknowledges the Veteran’s assertion that he has bilateral hearing loss. However, hearing loss does not constitute a disability for VA purposes if it does not meet the threshold requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.384. Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 179-80 (2007). The existence of a current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for service connection and VA disability compensation. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; see Degmetich, 104 F.3d at 1332 (holding that interpretation of sections 1110 and 1131 of the statute as requiring the existence of a present disability for VA compensation purposes cannot be considered arbitrary). Evidence must show that the Veteran currently has the disability for which benefits are being claimed. Here, the Veteran does not have a hearing loss disability in either ear as defined by VA regulations. Therefore, the Board cannot grant his claim under any theory of entitlement. The Board does not question the Veteran’s sincerity in his belief that service connection is warranted for bilateral hearing loss. However, without evidence of a current hearing loss disability as defined by VA regulations, a preponderance of the evidence is against the Veteran’s claim. The benefit of the doubt doctrine does not apply, and the claim for service connection for hearing loss must be denied. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); Ortiz v. Principi, 274 F.3d 1361, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49, 55-56 (1990). K. MARENNA Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board R. Dean 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.