Citation Nr: 21023296 Decision Date: 04/20/21 Archive Date: 04/20/21 DOCKET NO. 16-27 421 DATE: April 20, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, the Board finds his tinnitus is attributable to in-service noise exposure. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for tinnitus have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty service in the United States Navy from April 1974 to March 1976. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from an October 2015 rating decision by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). During the pendency of the appeal, in a February 2017 rating decision, the RO granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss. Because the Veteran was granted service connection for hearing loss and he has not disagreed with the effective date or disability rating, the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss is no longer on appeal. See generally Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Service Connection Service connection will be granted if the evidence demonstrates that a current disability resulted from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active service, even if the disability was initially diagnosed after service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus. The Veteran contends that he has tinnitus associated with in-service noise exposure due to his duties as a fireman. The Board concludes that the Veteran has a current diagnosis of tinnitus that began during active service and that, granting the Veteran the benefit of doubt, the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether it is related to in-service noise exposure. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Initially, the Board notes that the Veteran is competent to state that he has ringing in his ears, and thus the Board finds that he currently has tinnitus. Charles v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 370 (2002). The only question that remains is whether the Veteran had in-service noise exposure that the tinnitus is attributable to. The Veteran’s military occupational specialty (MOS) is reflected as a fireman. See DD 214. A February 2017 VA examiner found the Veteran’s hearing loss was attributable to military noise exposure as he was worked in a ship fitter shop and was around power tools and lots of reverberation noise. As such, military noise exposure is conceded. A February 2017 VA examiner provided a negative nexus opinion and reasoned that the Veteran’s reported onset of tinnitus was in 2013, which was around the same time of his middle ear “problems” due to fluid build-up behind his ear drums. The Board notes that in July 2020, the Veteran and his representative clarified that onset of the Veteran’s tinnitus symptoms were around the same time of his service-connected hearing loss and he believed his symptoms were a “common everyday occurrence” but that he first reported his symptoms in 2013. While the Board acknowledges that the Veteran did not specifically seek treatment for tinnitus symptoms in service and did not report experiencing any such symptoms at the time of his discharge, the fact remains that he has conceded in-service noise exposure and reported experiencing tinnitus symptoms in service that he attributed to in-service noise exposure. The Veteran’s statements are competent, credible, and probative, and, resolving doubt in his favor, the Board finds that the record reasonably supports entitlement to service connection for tinnitus based on his lay statements. Consequently, service connection for tinnitus is granted. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). DELYVONNE M. WHITEHEAD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board Y. Asfaw, 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.