Citation Nr: 21032612 Decision Date: 05/27/21 Archive Date: 05/27/21 DOCKET NO. 16-34 499 DATE: May 27, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran does not have a right ear hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right ear hearing loss have not 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 U.S. Navy from September 1974 to September 1977. In August 2019, the Board remanded the above issue to obtain another VA examination, which was conducted in December 2019. The Board is therefore satisfied there was substantial compliance with its remand orders. See Dyment v. West, 13 Vet. App. 141, 146-47 (1999); Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). Service Connection Service connection may be granted 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. To establish entitlement to service-connected compensation benefits, a veteran must show: "(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. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Service connection may be granted for any disease initially diagnosed after service when all of the evidence, including that pertinent to service, establishes that the disease was incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). For veterans with 90 days or more of active service during a war period or after December 31, 1946, certain chronic diseases, including organic diseases of the nervous system such as sensorineural hearing loss, are presumed to have been incurred in service if they manifested to a compensable degree within one year of separation from service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1112, 1113; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. Pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b), where a chronic disease such as sensorineural hearing loss is shown as such in service, subsequent manifestations of the same chronic disease are generally service connected. If a chronic disease is noted in service but chronicity in service is not adequately supported, a showing of continuity of symptomatology after separation is required. Entitlement to service connection based on chronicity or continuity of symptomatology pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(b) applies only when the disability for which the Veteran is claiming compensation is due to a disease enumerated on the list of chronic diseases in 38 U.S.C. § 1101(3) or 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(a). Walker v. Shinseki, 708 F.3d 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2013). 1. Entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is denied. The Veteran contends that he has right ear hearing loss due to his military service. Specifically, he contends that he suffered acoustic trauma from the noise of the tools he used while in service. The Veteran reported being exposed to small arms fire, machine guns, diesel vehicles, heavy equipment, ship mounted guns, needle guns, and paint chippers. For the purposes of applying the laws administered by VA, impaired hearing will be considered to be a disability when the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; or when the auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz are 26 decibels or greater; or when speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. In the March 2015 VA examination, the Veteran's Maryland CNC Word List speech recognition score and pure tone thresholds, in decibels, for his right ear were as follows: March 2015 HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 Avg CNC RIGHT 20 15 20 25 20 96 The March 2015 VA examiner noted that the Veteran had right ear sensorineural hearing loss in the frequency range of 6000 Hz or higher frequencies and had significant changes in hearing thresholds in service. In the December 2019 VA examination, the Veteran's Maryland CNC Word List speech recognition score and pure tone thresholds, in decibels, for his right ear were as follows: December 2019 HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 Avg CNC RIGHT 30 20 25 20 23.75 96 In December 2019, the VA examiner noted that the Veteran had a diagnosis of right ear sensorineural hearing loss in the frequency range of 500-4000 Hz and in the frequency range of 6000 Hz or higher frequencies. Given the above findings, there is no indication that the Veteran has a hearing loss disability for VA compensation purposes. In addition, there is no other evidence of record showing a diagnosis of hearing loss consistent with the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The Board notes that neither the March 2015 or December 2019 VA auditory evaluations showed that the auditory threshold in any of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz was 40 decibels or greater. The auditory evaluations also did not show that auditory thresholds for at least three of the frequencies 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hertz were 26 decibels or greater. Moreover, as noted above, his speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test were 96 percent for the right ear in both the March 2015 and December 2019 VA auditory evaluations. The existence of a current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for VA disability compensation. Therefore, in the absence of proof of a present disability, there can be no valid claim. Brammer v. Derwinski, 3 Vet. App. 223 (1992). Accordingly, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim and entitlement to service connection for right ear hearing loss is not warranted. GAYLE STROMMEN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board C. E. Grossman, 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.