Citation Nr: 22013744 Decision Date: 03/10/22 Archive Date: 03/10/22 DOCKET NO. 15-24 918 DATE: March 10, 2022 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT The probative evidence of record does not show that a left ear hearing loss disability for VA purposes manifested at any time during the pendency of this claim. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for left ear hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.385. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active-duty service from May 1972 to May 1975. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from an February 2015 rating decision (RD) issued by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). A hearing was held in February 2019 before a Veterans Law Judge that has since retired. A transcript of that hearing is of record. The Veteran was notified by letter in January 2022 that the VLJ who conducted the February 2019 hearing is no longer employed by the Board and thus was offered the opportunity to have another hearing before a member of the Board. No response was received within 30 days per the instructions in the January 2022 letter; therefore, the Board assumes the Veteran does not want another hearing and will proceed accordingly. Lastly, the Board notes that upon remand the Veteran was granted service connection for right ear hearing loss. See August 2021 RD. This decision was a complete grant of benefits and the issue of service connection for right ear hearing loss is no longer on appeal before the Board. See Grantham v. Brown, 114 F.3d 1156 (Fed. Cir. 1997). 1. Entitlement to service connection for left ear hearing loss For VA purposes, impaired hearing will be considered a disability subject to service connection 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). The Veteran underwent a VA audiology examination in January 2015. His puretone thresholds for his left ear, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 Avg CNC LEFT 15 10 15 20 15 96 The Veteran underwent another VA audiology examination in December 2019. His puretone thresholds for his left ear, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 Avg CNC LEFT 15 20 20 30 21 94 Upon remand, the Veteran most recently underwent a VA audiology examination in June 2021. His puretone thresholds for his left ear, in decibels, were as follows: HERTZ 1000 2000 3000 4000 Avg CNC LEFT 15 15 15 30 19 94 Based on these findings, and the remaining medical evidence of record, the Board finds that there is no disability for compensation purposes, as the evidence does not show that the criteria set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 are met for the left ear. The Veteran is competent to state that he has decreased hearing acuity. His assertion is credible. However, the record does not show that he has the experience or training to state that his left ear hearing loss meets the threshold set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 to be considered a disability for VA purposes. Rather, that must be determined based on objective audiological testing. Service connection for left ear hearing loss is denied because the criteria set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 3.385 are not met, and therefore there is no current disability. The existence of a current disability is the cornerstone of a claim for VA disability compensation. In the absence of evidence of a current disability there can be no valid claim. The appeal is denied. Bethany L. Buck Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board S.R. Fey, 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.