RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
             AIR FORCE BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS

      IN THE MATTER OF:            DOCKET NUMBER:  BC-2007-01913
            INDEX CODE: 110.00
XXXXXXX                           COUNSEL:  PARALYZED VETS OF AMERICA
                                   HEARING DESIRED:  NO

MANDATORY CASE COMPLETION DATE: 22 DECEMBER 2008

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APPLICANT REQUESTS THAT:

His records be corrected to reflect he was separated for medical reasons.

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APPLICANT CONTENDS THAT:

When  he  entered  the  Air  Force  in  1963,  his  medical  condition   of
otosclerosis of the middle ear was not discovered.  He was told his hearing
was perfect.  After serving in the Air Force for  a  year  and  working  in
noisy areas,  he  started  having  trouble  hearing  normal  conversations.
Medical personnel indicated his hearing loss was secondary to  otosclerosis
caused by constant exposure to flight line noise.   He  has  since  lost  a
large part of his hearing.  This is an injustice considering the Air  Force
indicated he had perfect hearing and his condition was  not  discovered  at
the time he entered the Air Force.  These factors led to his  hearing  loss
and full time use of hearing aids.

In support of  his  request,  the  applicant  submits  correspondence  from
Senator Domenici.

His complete submission, with attachments, is at Exhibit A.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS:

On 2 December 1963, the applicant enlisted in the Regular Air Force.  On  1
April 1966, he was placed on a medical  profile  and  returned  to  general
military duty with assignment restrictions of no hazardous noise  exposure.
He was evaluated again on 19 December 1966; there  was  no  change  in  his
medical status, and no requirement for an assignment limitation  code.   On
17 April 1967, he was evacuated from Guam AB to Texas with a  diagnosis  of
bilateral otosclerosis.  On 25 April 1967, he was found medically qualified
for duty.  It was noted  he  had  the  following  defects:   impairment  of
hearing, bilateral, sensori-neural, high frequency, right, mild; conductive
left, mild, with marked nonorganic overlay. The conditions were  considered
temporary and he was to report in  three  months  for  further  evaluation.
Record of any further evaluations cannot be found.  On 26 January 1968, the
applicant was honorably discharged.

He served a total of 4 years, 1 month and 25 days on active duty.

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AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

HQ AFPC/DPPD recommends denial.  DPPD states a review  of  the  applicant's
military personnel records reflects  his  case  was  not  referred  to  the
Physical Disability Division and, as such, could not have been reviewed for
a medical discharge.

The complete DPPD evaluation is at Exhibit C.

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APPLICANT'S REVIEW OF AIR FORCE EVALUATION:

The applicant responded stating the advisory he received was wrong.  He  was
evacuated from Anderson AFB, Guam to the Philippines, then William  Beaumont
Army Hospital in El Paso. When he  arrived  at  Holloman  AFB,  NM,  he  was
assigned to the automotive maintenance shop performing light duties  because
he was unable to perform his usual duties because of the noise issue in  the
shop.  He received middle ear surgery in November 1967.  After this  surgery
he experienced vertigo to the point he would vomit upon  standing.   He  was
given a physical and it was determined his  hearing  was  impaired;  he  was
given a  profile  for  his  hearing  loss  and  vertigo  problems.   An  ear
specialist performed another middle ear surgery on the same ear and found  a
leak from a hole in the window where the Air Force doctors had attached  the
stapes prosthesis.  The doctor grafted skin from  behind  his  ear  and  the
vertigo improved significantly and  now  he  rarely  has  the  problem  with
vertigo; however, he had  to  suffer  with  it  many  years  before  it  was
corrected.   He  also  suffers  from  tinnitus  to  the  point   he   cannot
distinguish audiogram sounds from ringing.  He  was  awarded  a  70  percent
disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).   His  ears
are still deteriorating and getting worse each year.  He now has to use  the
full volume on  his  hearing  aids.   Although  the  machines  indicate  his
hearing has leveled out his body tells a different story.  The doctors  were
aware he had otosclerois when he enlisted but took him anyway.  He  believes
it is the Air Force's fault his hearing was  impaired  because  they  placed
him on flight line duty loading bombs, which was damaging  to  his  existing
condition.  Now he is nearly deaf.

His complete response, with attachments, is at Exhibit E.

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THE BOARD CONCLUDES THAT:

1.  The applicant has exhausted all remedies provided by  existing  law  or
regulations.

2.  The application was not timely filed; however, it is in the interest of
justice to excuse the failure to timely file.

3.    Insufficient relevant evidence has been presented to  demonstrate  the
existence of error or injustice.    In  this  respect,  the  fact  that  the
applicant was treated for a medical condition while on active duty does  not
automatically mean that the condition is unfitting  for  continued  military
service and warrants processing through the  disability  evaluation  system.
Disability processing requires that the medical condition must be such  that
it by itself precluded him from reasonably fulfilling his  military  duties.
We see no evidence which would lead us to believe that at the  time  of  his
separation, a physical condition existed that was  determined  by  competent
medical authority to be a physical disability that rendered  him  unable  to
perform his military duties.  Since  there  were  no  disqualifying  medical
conditions at the time of his separation, we see  no  reason  why  he  would
have been eligible for consideration in the  disability  evaluation  system.
Therefore, we agree with the opinion and recommendation  of  the  Air  Force
office of primary responsibility and adopt its rationale as  the  basis  for
our conclusion that the applicant has not been the victim  of  an  error  or
injustice.  In  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  we  find  no
compelling  basis  to  recommend  granting  the  relief   sought   in   this
application.

_________________________________________________________________

THE BOARD DETERMINES THAT:

The applicant be notified that the evidence presented  did  not  demonstrate
the existence of material error  or  injustice;  that  the  application  was
denied without a personal appearance; and that the application will only  be
reconsidered upon the submission of newly discovered relevant  evidence  not
considered with this application.

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The following members of the Board considered AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-2007-
01913 in Executive Session on 8 November 2007, under the provisions  of  AFI
36-2603:

                 Mr. Laurence M. Groner, Panel Chair
                 Mr. Reginald P. Howard, Member
                 Ms. Teri G. Spoutz, Member


The following documentary evidence pertaining to AFBCMR Docket Number  BC-
2007-01913 was considered:

    Exhibit A.  DD Form 149, dated 17 March 2007, w/atchs.
    Exhibit B.  Applicant's Master Personnel Records.
    Exhibit C   Letter, AFPC/DPPD, dated 13 August 2007.
    Exhibit D.  Letter, SAF/MRBR, dated 14 September 2007.
    Exhibit E.  Letter, Applicant, dated 18 September 2007.




            LAURENCE M. GRONER
            Panel Chair