Citation Nr: 21032268 Decision Date: 05/26/21 Archive Date: 05/26/21 DOCKET NO. 19-24 778 DATE: May 26, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability is granted. REMANDED Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for allergic rhinitis is remanded. Entitlement to a compensable evaluation for a right ear hearing loss disability is remanded. FINDING OF FACT After resolving reasonable doubt in his favor, the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is related to noise exposure in service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107(b) (2018); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.385 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1970 to February 1974. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2018 rating decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In May 2021, the Veteran testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. Entitlement to service connection for a left ear hearing loss disability. Service connection may be established for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection requires evidence showing: (1) a current disability; (2) incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in service; and (3) a nexus between the current disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated in service. See Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004). 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). Hearing loss will be considered a disability for VA purposes when the threshold level in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 hertz (Hz) is 40 decibels or greater; or the thresholds for at least three of these frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or speech recognition scores utilizing recorded Maryland CNC word lists are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385; see also Palczewski v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 174, 178-80 (2007). The Veteran has a left ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes. See May 2018 VA examination. Noise exposure during service is conceded. See, e.g., May 2018 rating decision. A May 2018 VA examiner opined it was less likely than not that the Veteran's left ear hearing loss disability is related to service because his hearing was normal upon separation from service. It is well established that service connection for a hearing loss disability is not precluded where hearing was within normal limits on audiometric testing at separation from service. See Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 159-60 (1993). As a result, the opinion is inadequate and given no probative weight. VA treatment records reflect that the Veteran reported left ear hearing loss after he fell from a ladder onto his left side in September 2013. The audiologist did not provide an opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's hearing loss disability. See October 2014 VA treatment records. The Veteran testified that his left ear hearing worsened by the time he left active duty service, but his left ear hearing impairment was the same before his September 2013 fall as it was after the fall. See May 2021 Board hearing. After considering the Veteran's testimony regarding his hearing impairment upon separation from service and around the time of his post-service fall, and after resolving reasonable doubt in his favor, the Board finds that his left ear hearing loss disability is related to noise exposure in service. Thus, service connection is warranted. REASONS FOR REMAND Entitlement to an evaluation in excess of 10 percent for allergic rhinitis; entitlement to a compensable evaluation for a right ear hearing loss disability. The Veteran's most recent VA examination for his allergic rhinitis and right ear hearing loss disability occurred in 2018. Since that time, he has indicated that his disabilities have worsened. See May 2021 Board hearing. Because it has been three years since the last VA examination for each disability, remand for contemporaneous examinations is required to assess the current severity of his service-connected disabilities. See Green v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 121 (1991); see also Snuffer v. Gober, 10 Vet. App. 400, 403 (1997). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The AOJ should obtain copies of VA treatment records from August 2019 to the present. 2. After the development in the first directive is completed, the AOJ should arrange for an examination of the Veteran to assess the current severity of his service-connected allergic rhinitis. The examiner must review the entire record (including this remand) in conjunction with the examination and note such review was conducted. The examiner should provide a full description of the disability and report all signs and symptoms associated with the Veteran's disability. 3. After the development in the first directive is completed, the AOJ should arrange for a VA audiological evaluation (with audiometric studies) to determine the current severity of the Veteran's right ear hearing loss disability. In addition to reporting audiometry results, the examiner should elicit from the Veteran information as to the effect his hearing loss has on his daily living, and comment on the expected impact the degree of hearing loss found would have on occupational and social functioning (i.e., provide an opinion as to whether the Veteran's reports of functional impairment are consistent with his level of hearing loss shown). (Continued on next page) 4. If upon completion of the above action the issues remain denied, the case should be returned to the Board after compliance with appellate procedures. E. I. VELEZ Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Sandler, 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.