Citation Nr: 18140918 Decision Date: 10/09/18 Archive Date: 10/09/18 DOCKET NO. 16-31 021 DATE: October 9, 2018 ORDER A total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is granted, subject to the regulations governing payment of monetary awards. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities (PTSD, rated 70 percent; bilateral hearing loss, 60 percent; type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), 20 percent; left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, 10 percent, each; tinnitus, 10 percent; left thigh shell fragment wound, 0 percent; residuals of a left inferior orbit shrapnel injury, 0 percent; and right foot scar,0 percent) are rated 90 percent, combined, and are reasonably shown to be of such nature and severity as to preclude his participation in any regular substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience. CONCLUSION OF LAW The schedular criteria for a TDIU rating are met, and a TDIU rating is warranted. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.3, 4.16. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The appellant is a Veteran who served on active duty, including in Vietnam, from February 1969 to February 1971, and received a Purple Heart Medal. This matter is before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2014 rating decision. Entitlement to a TDIU rating is granted. Legal Criteria, Factual Background, and Analysis A TDIU rating may be assigned, where the schedular rating is less than total, when the Veteran is unable to maintain a substantially gainful occupation as a result of service connected disability. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.340, 3.341, 4.16. If there is only one such disability, it must be rated at 60 percent or more; if there are two or more disabilities, at least one must be rated at 40 percent or more, with sufficient additional disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). In determining whether unemployability exists, consideration may be given to the Veteran’s level of education, special training, and work experience, but not age or impairment due to nonservice-connected disabilities. 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.341, 4.16, 4.19. The Veteran contends that he is unable to work due to his service-connected PTSD, hearing loss, diabetes, and polyneuropathy. He is a high school graduate, and has worked primarily in the construction industry. See September 2013 VA Form 21-8940. The Veteran’s service-connected disabilities (PTSD, rated 70 percent; bilateral hearing loss, 60 percent; type 2 DM, 20 percent; left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, 10 percent; tinnitus, 10 percent; left thigh shell fragment wound, 0 percent; residuals of a left inferior orbit shrapnel injury, 0 percent; and, right foot scar, 0 percent) are rated 90 percent, combined. The 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a) schedular rating requirements for a TDIU rating are met. What remains to be determined is whether the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities are of such nature and severity as to preclude his participation in substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and work experience. Considering the service-connected disabilities in turn, the Board notes that the 70 percent rating assigned for PTSD reflects occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, including work; symptoms include hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, trouble sleeping, anger issues, and occasional feelings of emotional numbness/detachment. See February 2014 VA examination report. The 60 percent rating assigned for bilateral hearing loss reflects a severe hearing impairment, which would be inconsistent with employment requiring spoken communication. His diabetes mellitus with bilateral lower extremity peripheral neuropathy reasonably precludes employment requires any prolonged standing or walking. And his tinnitus would likely impact on employment requiring concentration or verbal communication. The Veteran has a limited (to high school) education; he is not shown to have had any training for employment of a less strenuous, perhaps sedentary nature. His occupational experience has been primarily in the physically demanding construction industry. His PTSD, hearing loss, and tinnitus likely preclude employment that requires concentration, maintaining interpersonal relationships with co-workers, or unimpaired comprehension of spoken communication. The Board finds the combined effect of the functional impairment from the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities is such that he is precluded from participating in any regular substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and occupational experience. The Board notes that a February 2014 VA PTSD examiner opined that the Veteran’s PTSD, of itself, does not preclude him from maintaining gainful employment. However, the opinion does not address the combined effect of all of the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities (on his ability to maintain employment). Resolving remaining reasonable doubt in the Veteran’s favor, as required (see 38 C.F.R. § 4.3), the Board finds that a TDIU rating is warranted. [The effective date of the award is a downstream issue for the AOJ to address in the first instance.] GEORGE R. SENYK Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD J. Dupont, Associate Counsel