Citation Nr: 21021445 Decision Date: 04/13/21 Archive Date: 04/13/21 DOCKET NO. 15-12 541 DATE: April 13, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus were incurred as a result of his active duty service. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for establishing service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. 2. The criteria for establishing service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from July 1961 to July 1964. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a July 2013 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Service Connection Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Evidence of continuity of symptomatology from the time of service until the present is required where the chronicity of a chronic condition manifested during service either has not been established or might reasonably be questioned. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b); see also Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (holding that only conditions listed as chronic diseases in § 3.309(a) may be considered for service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b). Regulations also provide that service connection may be granted for any disease diagnosed after discharge, when all the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disability was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). 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). Moreover, where a veteran served continuously for 90 days or more during active service, and sensorineural hearing loss manifests to a degree of 10 percent within one year from date of termination of such service, such disease shall be presumed to have been incurred in service, even though there is no evidence of such disease during the period of service. This presumption is rebuttable by affirmative evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1112, 1113, 1137; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. 1. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss. 2. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran attributes his bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus to his inservice exposure to acoustic trauma. He claims that his hearing loss and tinnitus began during his active service and continued to exist ever since. A review of his service personnel records revealed that he served in the United States Army for three years and that he was an expert in using the M-14 Rifle. Thus, his inservice exposure to acoustic trauma has been established. Upon review of the record and after resolving all doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board concludes that the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus due to his inservice acoustic trauma. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). A comparison of the audiological examinations conducted pursuant to the Veteran’s July 1961 enlistment examination and his May 1964 separation examination reveals an increase of 5 to 15 decibels at each of the frequency levels tested in the left and right ear. The Veteran’s available post service employment records reflect findings of bilateral hearing loss in July 1971, the earliest post service audiogram of record. More recently, the Veteran’s April 2013 VA examination for hearing loss and tinnitus concluded with diagnoses of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. After reviewing the Veteran’s claims file and conducting a physical examination of the Veteran, the April 2013 VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss was at least as likely as not related to his military service, and that his tinnitus was associated with his hearing loss. In support of this opinion, the VA examiner cited the Veteran’s repeated exposure to acoustical trauma during service, along with complaints of subsequent hearing loss and tinnitus. A second VA examiner in July 2013 concluded that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s hearing loss and tinnitus were related to his inservice noise exposure during service. In support of this opinion, the VA examiner cited the lack of a significant audiometric shift during service. The Board notes, however, that a comparison of the two inservice audiological evaluations does show a decrease in hearing acuity at each of the frequency levels tested in the left and right ear. Moreover, the July 2013 VA examiner did not address or consider the Veteran’s contentions concerning the history of these conditions. Under these circumstances, the Board finds the evidence of record is in equipoise, and resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus is warranted. Evan M. Deichert Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board W. Yates, 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.