190520-14499

• Court: Board of Veterans' Appeals
• Decided: August 27, 2019
• Docket: 190520-14499
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Citation Nr: AXXXXXXXX Decision Date: 08/27/19 Archive Date: 08/27/19

DOCKET NO. 190520-14499 DATE: August 27, 2019

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for dementia, to include as secondary to bilateral hearing loss, is granted.

FINDING OF FACT

The Veteran's dementia is proximately due to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss.

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for establishing secondary service connection for dementia are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107(b); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310(a).

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran had active service from November 1952 to October 1954.

The rating decision on appeal was issued in January 2019. In May 2019, the Veteran elected the modernized review system. 84 Fed. Reg. 138, 177 (Jan. 18, 2019) (to be codified at 38 C.F.R. § 19.2(d)).

The January 2019 AOJ rating decision denied the Veteran’s claim for service connection for dementia, to include as secondary to service-connected bilateral hearing loss. In May 2019, the Veteran timely appealed this rating decision to the Board and requested the evidence submission review lane, allowing him 90 days to submit evidence pertinent to his claim. This appeal has been advanced on the Board's docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 7107(a)(2); 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c).

Entitlement to service connection for dementia, to include as secondary to bilateral hearing loss, is granted.

The Veteran seeks service connection for dementia, to include as secondary to his service connected bilateral hearing loss.

Service connection may be established on a secondary basis for a disability proximately due to or aggravated by a service-connected disease or injury. See 38 C.F.R. § 3.310; see also Allen v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 439 (1995) (en banc). To establish secondary service connection, a Veteran must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) the existence of a service-connected disability; and (3) a causal relationship (nexus) between the present disability and the service-connected disability. See Wallin v. West, 11 Vet. App. 509, 512 (1998).

The Veteran has a current diagnosis of dementia. Further, he is service-connected for bilateral hearing loss, currently rated at 30 percent disabling. Therefore, the first two elements of secondary service connection are satisfied.

Regarding the last element, nexus, in a May 2019 opinion, Dr. J.B. opined that "after a review of [the Veteran’s] military service history, medical history, and the available research on dementia, [hearing loss] and the relation between [hearing loss] and cognitive decline, and dementia, it is my professional medical opinion that it is more likely than not, [that the Veteran’s] cognitive decline, and dementia resulted from or was aggravated by his [service-connected bilateral hearing loss] due to his service.” In support of this opinion, Dr. J.B. cited to medical literature demonstrating that individuals with hearing impairment, such as the Veteran, exhibit increased risk of dementia.

The Board will grant the benefit of the doubt to the Veteran and allow the appeal.

Vito A. Clementi

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board T. T. Emmart, 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.