Citation Nr: 21020775 Decision Date: 04/08/21 Archive Date: 04/08/21 DOCKET NO. 16-24 073 DATE: April 8, 2021 ORDER Service connection for left ear hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s current left ear hearing loss is not related to his active duty service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for left ear hearing are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from March 1973 to March 1982. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Buffalo, New York. The claim for service connection for left ear hearing loss was previously before the Board in July 2020. At that time, the Board remanded the claim to obtain an adequate VA examination addressing the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss. As the record reflects that the Veteran was afforded an adequate VA examination for hearing loss following the Board’s remand, the Board finds that there has been substantial compliance with the remand directives. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Service connection for left ear hearing loss Service connection may be granted for disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 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 is considered a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 Hertz (“the relevant frequencies”) is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the relevant frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Veteran currently has left ear hearing loss constituting a disability for VA purposes, as reflected in the report of the December 2020 VA audiology examination. His exposure to military noise as a Missile Handler in service has been conceded. The Veteran contends that his hearing loss was caused by noise exposure associated with diesel and jet engines as part of his active service duties. The December 2020 VA examiner opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss was related to his active service. The VA examiner considered the Veteran’s exposure to noise in service and his post-service exposure to industrial noise. The examiner noted that there were no significant permanent shifts in the Veteran’s hearing thresholds from entrance to separation and no evidence of permanent auditory damage while on active duty. The examiner also noted that there was no report of treatment for hearing problems in service or at separation and that, while noise exposure was conceded, there was no in-service evidence of auditory damage. The examiner explained that that hearing loss could not be related to service based on exposure to noise alone, and that there was no evidence to relate the Veteran’s current hearing loss to military noise, as opposed to another etiology. The Board finds the December 2020 VA medical opinion competent, credible and entitled to probative weight because it was based on a thorough review of the claims file, addressed the relevant facts and medical science, and included a detailed rationale. See Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120, 124 (2007). Moreover, there is no probative evidence to the contrary. Although the Veteran is competent to report his experiences and noise exposure, there is no indication in the record that he is competent to opine as to the etiology of his left ear hearing loss. See Layno v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 465, 470 (1994) (lay testimony is competent as to features or symptoms, but not etiology, of an injury or illness). Based on the foregoing, the Board finds that the Veteran’s current left ear hearing loss is not related to his active duty service. Accordingly, the claim for service connection is denied. As the preponderance of evidence is against the Veteran’s claim, the benefit of the doubt doctrine is inapplicable. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. S.C. KREMBS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board M. Snyder, 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.