Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied.

Citation Nr: A26069943 Decision Date: 07/30/26 Archive Date: 07/30/26 DOCKET NO. 260108-621616 DATE: July 30, 2026 ORDER Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. FINDING OF FACT Throughout the period on appeal, the Veteran's hearing acuity in the left and right ear has been at Level I. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 4.1, 4.3, 4.7, 4.85, 4.86, Diagnostic Code (DC) 6100. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from August 2011 to August 2016. In April 2025, the Veteran submitted a VA Form 20-0996, Decision Review Request: Higher-Level Review (HLR), and requested review of a February 2025 decision. In July 2025, the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) issued the HLR decision on appeal, which considered the evidence of record at the time of the prior February 2025 rating decision. In a January 2026 VA Form 10182, Decision Review Request: Board Appeal, the Veteran elected the Direct Review docket. Therefore, the Board may only consider the evidence of record at the time of the agency of original jurisdiction (AOJ) decision on appeal. 38?C.F.R. § 20.301. Entitlement to a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss is denied. The Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss disability is currently assigned a noncompensable disability rating under the provisions of DC 6100 of the Rating Schedule. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. He disagrees with the rating assigned. Disability evaluations are determined by the application of the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities (Rating Schedule). 38?C.F.R. Part 4. The percentage ratings contained in the Rating Schedule represent, as far as can be practicably determined, the average impairment in earning capacity resulting from diseases and injuries incurred or aggravated during military service and their residual conditions in civil occupations. 38?U.S.C. §?1155; 38?C.F.R. §§?3.321, 4.1. VA should interpret reports of examination in light of the whole recorded history, reconciling the various reports into a consistent picture so that the current rating may accurately reflect the elements of disability. 38?C.F.R. §?4.2. Any reasonable doubt regarding the degree of disability shall be resolved in favor of the claimant. 38?C.F.R. §?4.3. Where there is a question as to which of two evaluations apply, the higher of the two should be assigned where the disability picture more nearly approximates the criteria for the next higher rating. 38?C.F.R. §?4.7. In disability rating cases, VA assesses the level of disability from the initial grant of service connection or a year prior to the date of application for an?increased rating?and determines whether the level of disability warrants the assignment of different disability ratings at different times over the course of the claim, a practice known as "staged ratings." See Fenderson v. West,?12?Vet. App.?119, 126?(1999); see also Hart v. Mansfield,?21?Vet. App.?505, 509-10?(2007) (holding that staged ratings may be warranted in?increased rating?claims). Under the VA Rating Schedule, hearing impairment is evaluated based on audiological testing, including a puretone audiometry test and the Maryland CNC controlled speech discrimination test. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. To evaluate the degree of disability from defective hearing, the Rating Schedule establishes eleven auditory acuity levels from Level I for essentially normal acuity through Level XI for profound deafness. Id. Table VI is used to assign a Roman numeral designation for hearing impairment based on a combination of the percent of speech discrimination and the puretone threshold average. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85 (b). The puretone threshold average is the average of the puretone thresholds, in decibels, at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz, shown on a puretone audiometry test. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. When there is no speech discrimination testing, Table VIa is used, based on the puretone threshold average alone if the examiner certifies the use of the speech discrimination test is not appropriate, or when indicated under the provisions of 38 C.F.R. § 4.86. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.85 (c). Table VII is used to determine the percentage evaluation by combining the Roman numeral designations for hearing impairment for each ear. See 38 C.F.R. $ 4.85 (e). Exceptional patterns of hearing impairment are addressed in 38 C.F.R. § 4.86, although this regulation is not applicable here. Turning to the evidence of record, in a November 2024 VA examination, audiological testing revealed puretone thresholds results in the Veteran's right ear at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz of 20, 20, 30, and 40, respectively, for an average of 28 Hertz. Puretone thresholds measured in the Veteran's left ear at 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Hertz were 25, 20, 30, and 35 decibels, respectively, with an average of 28 decibels. Speech discrimination scores were reported as 98 percent in both ears. Treatment notes of record showed no greater findings than noted in the November 2024 VA examination. Utilizing Table VI listed in 38 C.F.R. § 4.85, the above audiological findings show Level I acuity in the right and left ear. The combined numeric designations of Level I for both ears warrant a noncompensable rating under Table VII. 38 C.F.R. § 4.85. Based on the results of the audiological evaluations discussed above, and in the absence of any additional medical evidence showing a more severe hearing disability, the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability has not approximated the criteria for a rating higher than 0 percent for the period on appeal. In so finding, the Board accords significant probative value to the clinical findings within the November 2024 VA examination, as they were rendered by a competent medical professional who is trained to provide the information necessary to assess the Veteran's disability under the applicable rating criteria and who examined the Veteran and the existing record. While the Board does not doubt the Veteran's reduced hearing acuity, it is bound by the rating schedule, which requires more significant reduction before the disability is compensable. Accordingly, the Board finds that the most probative evidence of record is against the claim, and entitlement to a compensable disability rating for the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss disability is not warranted. J. NICHOLS Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board N.B. Mmeje, 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.