Citation Nr: 21030479 Decision Date: 05/19/21 Archive Date: 05/19/21 DOCKET NO. 16-28 138 DATE: May 19, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran currently has bilateral hearing loss. However, his hearing loss did not have its clinical onset during his active service, did not manifest to at least a compensable degree within one year from the date of separation from active service, and the evidence of record does not demonstrate that it is otherwise related to an in-service injury or disease. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1131, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from October 1981 to September 1989. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2015 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Seattle, Washington. Jurisdiction of the Veteran's claims file currently resides with the Oakland, California RO. In May 2019, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned. A transcript of the hearing is of record. In November 2019, the Board remanded the case for further development. Thereafter, in December 2020, the Board denied increased ratings for the lumbar spine, eczema, and a disability of the right lower extremity. Additionally, the Board granted an increased rating for a disability of left lower extremity. Lastly, the Board again remanded the issue of service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The case has returned to the Board for appellate review. Service Connection for Bilateral Hearing Loss As indicated above in the Conclusions of Law section, the Board finds that service connection for bilateral hearing loss is not warranted in the instant case. Accordingly, the Veteran's appeal is denied. In support of this determination, the Board first notes that, as a general matter, service connection may be granted 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(a). Service connection generally requires credible and competent evidence showing: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009). Further, sensorineural hearing loss is classified as a "chronic disease" eligible for presumptive service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a). The Board may consider presumptive service connection for "chronic diseases" on three bases: (1) chronicity during service, (2) continuity of symptomatology since service, and (3) manifestations to a degree of 10 percent disabling or more within one year of the Veteran's separation from service. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303(b), 3.307(a)(3); Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Specific to the issue of hearing loss, VA defines impaired hearing as when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; the thresholds for at least three of these frequencies are 26 or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC word list are less than 94 percent. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. Turning to the evidence of record, the Board finds that the Veteran currently has hearing loss significant enough to be recognized as a disability for VA purposes. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. Specifically, during a February 2015 VA examination, the following results were obtained for the right ear during puretone threshold testing: 30 decibels at 500 Hertz; 25 decibels at 1000 Hertz; 35 decibels at 2000 Hertz; 45 decibels at 3000 Hertz; and 55 decibels at 4000 Hertz. Comparatively, for the left ear, the following results were obtained: 35 decibels at 500 Hertz; 45 decibels at 1000 Hertz; 45 decibels at 2000 Hertz; 55 decibels at 3000 Hertz; and 60 decibels at 4000 Hertz. As the thresholds of at least three frequencies were 26 decibels or more for both ears, the Veteran's hearing impairment was significant enough to qualify as a disability under 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. As such, the first service connection requirement has been satisfied in the instant case. Turning to the next requirement of an in-service incurrence, the Board notes that the Veteran's military occupational specialty was field artillery, an occupation acknowledged to involve a high probability of hazardous noise exposure. Accordingly, the Board finds the in-service incurrence requirement to also be satisfied in this case. Lastly, regarding a link between the Veteran's current hearing loss and service, the Board notes that, in January 2021, a VA audiologist reviewed the Veteran's entire claims file and opined that it was less likely than not that the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss was incurred in or related to service. In support of this determination, the audiologist first stated that the Veteran's service treatment records (STRs) did not indicate a profound threshold shift in hearing. The audiologist elaborated that that in-service examinations from April 1983, January 1988, and February 1989 all revealed normal hearing bilaterally. The audiologist then indicated that the Veteran's June 1989 separation examination revealed a 5-decibel shift for the right ear, when compared to the April 1983 examination, which medical literature did not indicate was significant. Comparatively, for the left ear, the audiologist noted that the Veteran had a significant shift of 25 decibels in June 1989. But, the examiner explained, that this was possibly a testing error as, in 201021 years after servicethe Veteran displayed a 60-decibel improvement in hearing at the same frequency. In reaching her conclusion that the Veteran's current hearing loss was not related to service, the January 2021 audiologist directly addressed the Veteran's May 2019 Board hearing testimony regarding the onset and continuity of his hearing loss and indicated that it was inconsistent with evidence in the claims file documenting objective testing of the Veteran's hearing. The Board finds the January 2021 audiologist's opinion to be adequate for adjudicative purposes because: (1) it was based on a consideration of the Veteran's medical history, including the Veteran's own lay statements; (2) described the Veteran's condition in detail; and (3) supported its conclusion with an appropriate analysis. See Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120, 124 (2007). As there are no other competent, adequate medical opinions of record, service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. S.C. KREMBS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board N.S. Pettine, 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.