Citation Nr: 18157872 Decision Date: 12/14/18 Archive Date: 12/13/18 DOCKET NO. 17-66 886 DATE: December 14, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU) is denied. FINDING OF FACT The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not prevent him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for a TDIU have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1155, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.310, 4.16 (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from June 1960 to June 1964. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) from a March 2017 rating decision of a Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). A December 2017 Board decision allowed the Veteran’s claim for service connection for Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (a type of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) and denied his claim for service connection for prostate cancer. The issues of service connection are not now before the Board. Entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability TDIU may be assigned where the schedular rating is less than total if it is found that the claimant is unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation as a result of 1) a single service-connected disability ratable at 60 percent or more, or 2) as a result of two or more disabilities, provided at least one disability is ratable at 40 percent or more, and there is sufficient additional service-connected disability to bring the combined rating to 70 percent or more. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). It is established VA policy that all Veterans who are unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation by reason of service-connected disabilities shall be rated totally disabled. 38 C.F.R. § 4.16 (b). This requires referral for consideration of TDIU on an extra-schedular basis in all cases of Veterans who are unemployable by reason of service-connected disability, but who fail to meet the percentage standards set forth in 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). Id. In this case, the Veteran has service connected disabilities of bilateral hearing loss and Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. Both disabilities are rated as noncompensable. His total disability rating is noncompensable. The Veteran does not meet the schedular criteria for a TDIU. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(a). Although the Board cannot assign TDIU on an extra-schedular basis in the first instance, it must specifically adjudicate whether referral for extra-schedular consideration, under 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b), is warranted. See Bowling v. Principi, 15 Vet. App. 1, 10 (2001). Here, the Veteran asserts in his December 2016 TDIU claim form that he is unable to secure and maintain substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (identified on his claim form as Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma). He reported he has been under a doctor’s care for this condition since 2009 and submits blood for analysis every six months. The Veteran was last employed by UPS as a truck driver from 1964 to 2003. The Veteran has a high school education and no further training. A VA hematologic and lymphatic conditions examination was provided in August 2018. The examiner described the onset of Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia in 2006 with mild anemia and multiple medical evaluations which culminated in a diagnosis in 2009. The Veteran underwent chemotherapy treatment in 2012 and 2013. Thereafter, the condition was in remission and no further treatment is noted. The examiner found that condition did not impact the Veteran’s ability to work. The Veteran has not asserted any physical, mental, or emotional impairment related to this condition which would prevent him from obtaining or maintaining employment. Medical evidence shows that the Veteran’s blood was drawn and analyzed in a laboratory approximately every six months over the pendency of his TDIU claim. Service connection is also established for bilateral hearing loss. The Veteran filed his claim for hearing loss in April 2014. A VA hearing loss examination was provided in November 2014. The Veteran demonstrated hearing loss for VA purposes. His speech discrimination scores were 98% in each ear. The examiner found that there was no impact on ordinary conditions of daily life, including the Veteran’s ability to work due to his hearing loss. The Veteran has not asserted any limitations on his ability to obtain or maintain employment based on hearing loss. There is no contention that he is unable to hear or communicate which would limit his ability to work. Further, there is no indication that the Veteran’s ability to hear has worsened since his VA examination in November 2014. (Continued on the next page)   The Board finds that the Veteran’s service connected disabilities of Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia and hearing loss do not prevent him from obtaining or maintaining gainful employment. Thus, referral to the Director, Compensation Service, for consideration of whether TDIU is warranted on an extra-schedular basis in accordance with VA regulations is not indicated. See 38 C.F.R. § 4.16(b). M. HYLAND Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Jeanne Celtnieks, Associate Counsel