From the beginning of the disability program in 1955, there has been an established list of medical impairments which, in and of themselves, are considered sufficient to preclude any gainful activity, absent evidence to the contrary. The listing has been periodically reviewed and revised as appropriate. Before August 1968, the Listing of Impairments did not appear in the disability regulations. The regulations at that time contained a brief list (shown in DI 34101.010 ff.) of examples of impairments which would ordinarily be considered disabling. That list in the regulations was supplemented by a Listing of Impairments which appeared in the Disability Insurance State Manual (DISM). The July 1967 Listing of Impairments from the DISM is shown in DI 34101.015. DI 34105.000 ff. summarizes changes made in the Listing of Impairments when it was published in the regulations in August 1968.
Earlier DISM versions of the Listing of Impairments have not been included in this subchapter. As the Listing of Impairments was being developed based on operating experience, there were numerous changes. Due to the passage of time, it is no longer possible to reproduce the exact text of the Listing of Impairments as it appeared at each particular point in time prior to August 1968. There are a limited number of cases involving an individual still on the disability rolls where the comparison point decision was made prior to September 1968. We believe that the text of the listing as it appeared at that time will be material to CDR outcome in very few of these cases. If the text of a relevant pre-August 1968 listing cannot be determined from the materials in this subchapter or from other available sources, and the issue is material to CDR outcome, the case may be submitted (through the usual regional office channels) to the Office of Disability, Division of Medical and Vocational Policy, Attention: GMPB.