Citation Nr: 21029773 Decision Date: 05/17/21 Archive Date: 05/17/21 DOCKET NO. 18-39 803 DATE: May 17, 2021 ORDER Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT It is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is related to in-service exposure to acoustic trauma. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, the criteria for an award of service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from June 1963 to June 1965. This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from an August 2017 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In September 2020, the Veteran testified at a virtual Board hearing before a Veterans Law Judge. A transcript of that hearing has been associated with the record. In November 2020, the Board remanded the case to the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) for additional development. After taking further action, the AOJ confirmed and continued the prior rating and returned the case to the Board. There has been at least substantial compliance with the Board's remand directives. See D'Aries v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 97, 105 (2008); Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). In April 2021, the Board wrote the Veteran and his representative to inform them that the Veterans Law Judge who conducted the Board hearing in September 2020 was no longer employed by the Board. The Veteran was offered the opportunity to testify at another Board hearing but did respond within 30 days. Accordingly, as set out in the letter, it is assumed that he does not wish to have another hearing. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. The Veteran seeks to establish service connection for bilateral hearing loss. He contends that his hearing loss is due to exposure to acoustic trauma during service, specifically from working as an aircraft mechanic on the flight line without hearing protection. He asserts that he has suffered from hearing loss since service. The Board concludes that the Veteran has a current bilateral hearing loss disability that is related to in-service acoustic trauma. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(a). Here, there is no dispute that the Veteran has a current bilateral hearing loss disability pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. See, e.g., February 2021 VA examination report. The evidence also demonstrates the Veteran had an in-service injury consisting of exposure to acoustic trauma. He has reported exposure to hazardous noise as an aircraft mechanic on the flight line without hearing protection. Thus, the question becomes whether the current disability is related to service. The evidence in favor of the claim includes the Veteran's exposure to acoustic trauma (loud noise) in service, as described above. Moreover, the Veteran has been granted service connection for tinnitus based on similar assertions of in-service loud noise exposure. See July 2017 VA examination report; August 2017 rating decision. Similar to tinnitus, sensorineural hearing loss is linked with nerve damage that most often occurs "when the tiny hair cells in the cochlea are injured." Fountain v. McDonald, 27 Vet. App. 258, 266 (2015) (quoting VA Training Letter 10-02). More specifically, in Fountain, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) referenced VA Training Letter 10-02, in addition to other medical and legal authority, and noted that chronic sensorineural hearing loss, as an organic disease of the nervous system, was considered a condition listed under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a), was due to a problem in the inner ear or in the auditory nerve between the inner ear and the brain, and was commonly caused by chronic exposure to excessive noise, in addition to age-related hearing loss. The Court noted that chronic sensorineural hearing loss caused by acoustic trauma resulted in damage to the inner ear and was an organic disease of the nervous system under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309. Because the Veteran sustained nerve damage that caused the service-connected tinnitus, by necessary logical inference, the Veteran sustained the same nerve damage to the inner ear that caused the current sensorineural hearing loss. The Board finds that, based upon both medical and legal authority, the in-service acoustic trauma caused permanent nerve damage to the auditory nerve or inner ear, which denotes the onset of the current sensorineural hearing loss in service. Such sensorineural hearing loss is a permanent disability that was incapable of actual improvement of the nerve damage because chronic sensorineural hearing loss either progresses or remains the same (i.e., progression may be prevented), while restoration (i.e., improvement) of chronic sensorineural hearing loss that was caused by acoustic trauma is not medically possible. See Fountain, 27 Vet. App. 258; VA Training Letter 10-02. The evidence weighing against the Veteran's claim includes the July 2017 and February 2021 VA negative nexus opinions. Based on the foregoing, and after resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, the Board finds that service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is warranted as directly related to service. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303(a), (d). The appeal is granted. J. Ragheb Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Joseph T. Leonard, 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.