Citation Nr: 21041859 Decision Date: 07/10/21 Archive Date: 07/10/21 DOCKET NO. 17-08 602 DATE: July 10, 2021 ORDER Service connection for right ear condition and residuals is denied. FINDING OF FACT The preponderance of the evidence of record is against finding that the Veteran has had a right ear condition and residuals at any time during or approximate to the pendency of the claim. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for right ear condition and residuals are not met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served honorably on active duty in the United States Navy from February 1971 to June 1971. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a March 2016 rating decision issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303. To establish service connection for a 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. Davidson v. Shinseki, 581 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2009). The Veteran contends that he has right ear condition and residuals from an in-service infection. For the following reasons, the Board disagrees. An essential element for service connection is a diagnosed disability. A review of the claims file finds that the Veteran has no diagnosed disability of the right ear. In a December 2015 VA treatment note, the Veteran denied vertigo and ear pain, but reported congestion in ears sometimes. His ear canals were clear, and the tympanic membranes were intact and clear. In February 2016, the Veteran underwent a VA examination for his claim. The VA examiner was unable to diagnose the Veteran with an ear or peripheral vestibular condition. The examiner noted that the Veteran reported during boot camp he had a swollen right ear and "holes" in his drums. The Veteran reported complaints that he hears himself talk in his right ear sometimes and has difficulty popping his ears. However, the Veteran reported no symptoms during the examination and reported he is not taking any medication for conditions. The examiner concluded the examination report with finding that there is no objective evidence to support an ear disease diagnosis. The examiner is competent to make these findings, the Board finds them to be credible, and affords their findings great probative weight. In an October 2020 informal hearing presentation, the Veteran's representative contends that the examiner did not take into account the Veteran's lay statement that the Veteran had water in his ear due to a hole in his ear drum leading to an infection that led to his discharge and has continued to have issues until the current time. The record does not support this contention. As stated above, the examiner noted in their examination report the claimed in-service event and the Veteran's claimed symptoms. The Board finds this to support that the examiner considered the Veteran's lay statements and as such finds the examination to be adequate. The Veteran has provided no information regarding what he contends his ear condition and residuals are. In multiple statements submitted to VA, the Veteran describes his in-service incident and that he continues to have issues from the incident. However, the Veteran never describes what these issues are. Though the Veteran reported he hears himself in his right ear and difficulty popping his ears, the record lacks any diagnosis of a disability for these symptoms. Accordingly, the Board affords the Veteran's report of symptoms less probative weight than the findings of the VA examiner. Accordingly, the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran has a diagnosed right ear condition with residuals. Because the preponderance of the evidence weighs against this claim, the benefit-of-the-doubt rule does not apply. See 38 U.S.C. § 5107; 38 C.F.R. § 3.102. As such, service connection for right ear condition with residuals is denied. JOHN Z. JONES Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Michael Chandeck, 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.