Proving your Hearing Disability is Severe Enough for Social Security

In order to establish an independent medical judgment evidencing a hearing disability of the severity level required to be awarded benefits to an applicant claiming a deafness disability, Social Security specifically requires reports from the following examinations:

• Otolaryngologic examination,
• Pure tone air and bone audiometry
• Speech reception threshold (SRT)
• Speech discrimination testing

The Social Security disability determination service requires a copy of reports of the applicant’s medical examinations and all audiologic evaluations testing results. The documentation should be submitted along with the application for disability related benefits.   The severity of a hearing disability is evaluated essentially in terms of the applicant’s ability to hear and distinguish speech. Other sounds and hearing related abilities may not be considered as disabling unless the hearing loss impairs the claimant’s ability to engage in gainful employment, or if a child, his ability to perform daily living tasks and function within a normal range commensurate with other children his age.

Quantitatively Determining a Hearing Loss Severity

The severity of a hearing loss can be quantitatively determined by an audiometer which meets the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for air and bone conducted stimuli and performing all hearing measurement testing in an environment which meets the ANSI standard for maximal permissible background sound. 

Evaluating the Severity Level of a Child’s Hearing Disability

The finding of a severe hearing impairment in a child will be based on the average hearing levels at 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hertz (Hz) in the better ear.  Social Security does take into consideration that minor hearing loss at a young age can lead to related speech impairments and learning disabilities.

Children under age five

• Demonstrated inability to hear air conduction thresholds at an average of 40 decibels (db) hearing level or greater in the better ear

Children over age five

• Inability to hear air conduction thresholds at an average of 70 decibels (db) or greater in the better ear; or
• speech discrimination scores at 40 percent or less in the better ear; or inability to hear air conduction thresholds at an average of 40 decibels (db) or greater in the better ear.

Getting Legal Help

It can be complicated to collect the medical evidence and testing information to support a hearing disability claim in an application for benefits with the Social Security.  Contacting a disability lawyer could provide much needed assistance with the application process and the disability determination process and may lead to being approved for benefits sooner.