Citation Nr: 21039960 Decision Date: 07/01/21 Archive Date: 07/01/21 DOCKET NO. 17-23 591 DATE: July 1, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for syphilis is denied. Entitlement to service connection for arthritis, to include as secondary to syphilis, is denied. Entitlement to service connection for a bilateral foot disability, to include as secondary to syphilis, is denied. Entitlement to service connection for bilateral hearing loss, to include as secondary to syphilis, is denied. Entitlement to service connection for tinnitus, to include as secondary to syphilis, is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran does not have a syphilis disability which could be attributed to active service. 2. The evidence fails to establish that the Veteran has arthritis that was caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. 3. The evidence fails to establish that the Veteran has a bilateral foot disability that was caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. 4. The evidence fails to establish that the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss that was caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. 5. The evidence fails to establish that the Veteran has tinnitus that was caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The criteria for service connection for syphilis have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. 2. The criteria for service connection for arthritis, to include as secondary to syphilis, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. 3. The criteria for service connection for a bilateral foot disability, to include as secondary to syphilis, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. 4. The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, to include as secondary to syphilis, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. 5. The criteria for service connection for tinnitus, to include as secondary to syphilis, have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.310. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS The Veteran served on active duty from July 1963 to January 1967. This matter is before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of a November 2013 rating decision of the Chicago, Illinois, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Veteran appeared at a hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge in March 2020. In November 2020, the Board remanded the case for further development. 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. See 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. "To establish a right to compensation for a present disability, 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"-the so-called "nexus" requirement." Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (quoting Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). Additionally, service connection may also be granted on a secondary basis for a disability if it is proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury. 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a). Establishing service connection on a secondary basis requires evidence sufficient to show that a current disability exists and that the current disability was either proximately caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability. Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439, 448 (1995). Entitlement to service connection for syphilis is denied. The Veteran contends that he suffers from syphilis as a result of his active duty service. In a February 2002 correspondence, the Veteran noted that he was told that he had syphilis while in service, and that he had to undergo a spinal tap due to his condition. At his March 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran stated that he had been given a spinal tap injection for syphilis/gonorrhea while in service. He noted that he did not seek medical attention after separation from service, but rather self-medicated before being treated at a VA hospital. In support of his appeal, the Veteran submitted information regarding syphilis and spinal taps. A service treatment record dated in May 1964 shows that the Veteran experienced isolated gonorrhea. An August 1964 treatment record shows an impression of probable gonorrhea. A February 1966 treatment record shows a notation of a weakly reactive venereal disease test. A March 1966 VA treatment record indicates that the Veteran was to have a spinal puncture performed. The Veteran was afforded a VA infectious diseases examination in March 2017. A diagnosis of syphilis, with the date off diagnosis noted as February 1966, was provided. The Veteran noted that he had never been treated for syphilis since he left military service. The VA examiner indicated that the Veteran's condition was inactive. The Veteran was afforded a VA infectious diseases examination in January 2020. A diagnosis of syphilis, with the date of diagnosis noted as February 1966, was provided. The VA examiner indicated that the Veteran's condition was resolved and that the date of inactivity was 1966. It was found that the Veteran did not have any symptoms or residuals attributable to syphilis and that he did not have any other pertinent physical findings, complications, conditions, signs and/or symptoms related to syphilis. The VA examiner opined that the claimed condition was less likely than not incurred in or caused by the claimed in-service injury, event, or illness. The VA examiner indicated a review of the Veteran's service treatment records and stated that in 1966, the Veteran had several laboratory results that were negative for active syphilis. Additionally, he had been married multiple times and had several children with no report of transmission to any of these individuals. The Veteran had no chronic, residual effects of this acute episode of syphilis from 1966, and his exit examination was negative for any complaints. The VA examiner noted that the Veteran did receive a spinal tap, but other than acute, site tenderness/discomfort, there was no chronic, residual effect from the very distant test. After a review of the record, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for a syphilis disability. The record contains no competent opinion linking the Veteran's claimed condition to his active service. The January 2020 VA opinion was provided based upon a comprehensive review of the claims file and examination of the Veteran, and an adequate rationale was given. See Nieves-Rodriguez v. Peake, 22 Vet. App. 295, 302-04 (2008). Further, there is no medical opinion to the contrary. The Board acknowledges the Veteran's contentions that he received a spinal tap during service, in addition to his assertion that his claimed syphilis is due to active duty. The Board does not doubt the credibility of the Veteran's reports, as he can attest to factual matters of which he had first-hand knowledge. See Washington v. Nicholson, 19 Vet. App. 362, 368 (2005). However, the questions of whether there is a current syphilis diagnosis and whether such diagnosis is etiologically related to service are outside the realm of common knowledge of a lay person. See Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The Veteran has not been shown to have the training or credentials to offer a medical diagnosis or an opinion as to the onset or etiology of this condition. See Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428 (2011). The Board accords significantly greater probative value to the opinion rendered by the VA examiner. In reaching this conclusion, the Board has considered the applicability of the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine. However, as the preponderance of the evidence weighs against the claim, that doctrine is not applicable. 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). Entitlement to service connection for arthritis, a bilateral foot disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus At his March 2020 Board hearing, the Veteran noted that his back hurt after receiving a spinal tap injection. He reported that the arthritis, bilateral foot disability, bilateral hearing loss, and tinnitus conditions were attributable to his claimed syphilis and spinal tap condition. Accordingly, because the Veteran does not contend that these disabilities are directly related to service and because the record similarly does not reasonably raise the theory of direct service connection, the Board will address only whether the Veteran is entitled to service connection for these disabilities on a secondary basis. See Robinson v. Mansfield, 21 Vet. App. 545, 552-56 (2008), aff'd sub nom. Robinson v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1355 (Fed.Cir.2009). The finding set forth earlier in this decision reflects that the Veteran is not entitled to service connection for syphilis. As service connection has not been established for the disability, there is no legal basis upon which to award service connection for disabilities that are claimed as secondary to a disability that is not service connected. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310. As there is there is no factual or legal merit to the secondary service connection claims, service connection on a secondary basis is denied. In reaching the conclusions above, the Board has considered the applicability of the benefit of the doubt doctrine. However, as the preponderance of the evidence is against the claims, that doctrine is not applicable in the instant appeal. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107(b). A. C. MACKENZIE Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board A-L Evans, 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.