Citation Nr: 21040019 Decision Date: 07/02/21 Archive Date: 07/02/21 DOCKET NO. 14-36 619 DATE: July 2, 2021 ORDER The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. FINDING OF FACT Resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, his current bilateral hearing loss is related to his active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW Resolving reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor the criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5103, 5103A, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.385 (2020). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active duty service in the United States Navy from August 1977 to May 1979. Given the disposition here, an extended discussion of the previous history of this case before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) and a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is unnecessary. The claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted. Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active military service. 38 U.S.C. § 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. Service connection also may be granted for disease diagnosed after discharge where incurred in service. 38 C.F.R. § 3.303(d). Establishing service connection generally requires medical or, in certain circumstances, lay evidence of (1) a current disability; (2) an in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury and the present disability. See Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Hickson v. West, 12 Vet. App. 247, 253 (1999). The determination as to whether the requirements for service connection are met is based on an analysis of all the relevant evidence of record, medical and lay, and the evaluation of its competency and credibility to determine its ultimate probative value in relation to other evidence. See Baldwin v. West, 13 Vet. App. 1, 8 (1999). For VA purposes, impaired hearing will be considered a disability when the auditory threshold for any of the frequencies of 500, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 Hertz is 40 decibels or greater; the auditory thresholds for at least three of these frequencies are 26 decibels or greater; or speech recognition scores using the Maryland CNC Test are less than 94 percent. 38 C.F.R. § 3.385. The threshold for normal hearing is between 0 and 20 decibels and higher thresholds show some degree of hearing loss. Hensley v. Brown, 5 Vet. App. 155, 157 (1993). First, evidence shows both that the Veteran meets the criteria for a current hearing loss disability for VA purposes, and that the Veteran's active service would have exposed him to noise. Accordingly, the first two elements of the service connection framework are considered met. The final question is whether the Veteran's current bilateral hearing loss is related to his active service. In support of the Veteran's claim is a December 2012 nexus statement from an audiologist. Previously, the Board had referred to this statement as coming from a private provider. Importantly, however, this provider appears to be a VA practitioner. The Board says importantly, because while the December 2013 nexus statement itself does not include a rationale, an earlier September 2013 VA audiology consult note reflects additional commentary on the Veteran's active service and the noise he was exposed to therein. When read together, the September 2012 consult and the December 2012 nexus statement are probative evidence in support of the Veteran's claim. While there is a negative VA opinion of record, a recent February 2021 Joint Motion found that opinion to be inadequate. Rather than remand for a new opinion, the Board finds that the December 2012 opinion is a sufficient basis on which service connection may be granted. Resolving all reasonable doubt in the Veteran's favor, his current bilateral hearing loss is at least as likely as not related to his active service. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is warranted. Evan M. Deichert Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Lyons, 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.