When Can a Hearing Disability Qualify for Social Security Benefits?

If you or someone that you love has a hearing impairment, you may be wondering when can a hearing disability qualify for Social Security benefits? This is a great question, and is answered from two perspectives - how any disability qualifies a person for benefits and the criteria that is used to evaluate a hearing disability.

Social Security has two programs that offer disability benefits for people who cannot work for at least a year because of their disability. The programs are called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Each program has different economic criteria requirements, but both programs evaluate disabilities using identical medical requirements.

How does Social Security define disability?

Social Security has slightly different definitions for disability for adults and children.

• Children are disabled if they have "determinable physical or mental impairment" that result in severe functional limitations. The condition diagnosed is either expected to cause the child's death or last for at least one year.

• Adults are the same as children with the addition of their disability causing an "inability to engage in substantial gainful activity". This year, that means the adult is unable to work or earns less than $1,000 per month because of their disability.

Hearing Disability

A hearing disability is evaluated by a Disability Claims Examiner against Social Security's Listing of Impairments. The Listing of Impairments is just that; a list that is divided up into multiple sections for different body systems and which then lists different disabilities within that body system and the severity of the disability that qualifies it as disabling.

The Disability Claims Examiner will find the criteria for analyzing a hearing disability in the section for "Special Senses and Speech". There are different lists for adults and children, and also slightly different criteria.

• A hearing impairment is going to be evaluated based on the person's ability to hear and whether or not they can distinguish speech.

Evidence Used

In order to evaluate the severity of a hearing impairment, the Listing of Impairments directs the evaluation to use an audiometer and meets American National Standards Institute standards and also to conduct the hearing tests in an environment that meets those standards as well. Other evidence Social Security will use:

• otolaryngologic exam performed by an otolaryngologist or qualified audiologist
• Pure tone air and bone audiometry
• speech reception threshold
• speech discrimination testing

Get Legal Help

As you can see, there are circumstances under which a hearing disability can qualify for Social Security disability benefits and that the evaluation process is complex from a medical perspective. What may not be as easy to see is that this can also be a complicated process that would be made much easier with the help of a qualified, experienced disability attorney. An attorney who knows their way around the disability application, hearing and appeals process will make it so much easier for you. Talk to a disability attorney as soon as possible to see if you or your loved one might have a qualifying hearing disability.