Disability for Deafness or Hearing Loss: Do You Qualify?

“Can I get disability for deafness?” Many of our clients often ask about how to seek disability benefits for deafness and hearing loss.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) recognizes that a person with profound, permanent hearing loss may be so limited in what he or she can do that they are unable to work at a full-time job without a lot of accommodations from an employer. For those seeking disability for deafness or hearing loss, the key word here is “profound.” Minor hearing difficulties do not qualify a person for benefits, but disability benefits for deafness are available in certain situations.

Disability for Deafness and Hearing Loss - Riddle & Brantley NC Disability Lawyers Similar to the rules pertaining to disability for blindness and vision problems, the rules applicable to deafness claims provide that the hearing impairment must affect BOTH ears. If your hearing in one ear is more or less normal, even total deafness in the other ear will not qualify you for benefits.

However, if hearing impairment in one or both of your ears is only one of your impairments (e.g. you have other physical or mental health problems), it can form part of the basis for a successful claim for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

So, yes, you may qualify for disability for deafness or hearing loss, but these claims can get pretty complicated. An experienced Social Security disability lawyer can help you navigate your case.

For a FREE consultation with a North Carolina disability lawyer regarding your potential disability for deafness or hearing impairment claim, please call 1-800-525-7111.

There is never any obligation and you won’t pay any attorney fees unless we successfully obtain disability benefits for deafness or hearing loss for you.

Call 1-800-525-7111 today to speak with an experienced attorney concerning your disability for deafness claim.

“Blue Book” Listing for Disability for Hearing Loss

The SSA includes hearing loss and speech impairment along with visual impairment in the same category of its “Listings” for disability found on its website.

How to Meet the “Listing” for Deafness or Hearing Impairment

In order to meet the Listing for hearing impairment, you must demonstrate by a significant, long-time history of treatment records from doctors and audiologists that certain tests have been run and that those test results fall into certain measurable ranges.

Specifically, either audiometry tests (measuring hearing sensitivity) or word recognition tests (measuring your ability to hear and recognize words) must be used to document the severity of your hearing loss.

If those test results can be produced, and you are otherwise eligible for benefits, then you will be automatically approved for disability for hearing loss or deafness.

“What if I don’t meet the Listing for disability for hearing loss or deafness?”

You may still have other options for seeking disability benefits for deafness or hearing loss.

Even if you do not meet the requirements to meet the Listing for disability for hearing loss or deafness, you can still be awarded benefits by proving that your “residual functional capacity” or RFC (i.e. what you can still do despite your impairments) is so limited that you could not work much if at all no matter how simple or easy the job.

You can prove this by showing other physical or mental health problems that, in combination with your hearing loss, limit you so much that you cannot work.

For example, perhaps your hearing loss is significant but not so bad as to meet the Listing, but still bad enough to prevent you from performing jobs you’ve held in the past (maybe you needed to hear customers in noisy environments, for example). You might also have other conditions like Crohn’s disease or colitis (or anything else) that prevent you from performing work duties throughout the workday. If the SSA or an Administrative Law Judge concludes that this combination of impairments limits your RFC so severely that few if any jobs could accommodate your limitations, you can be approved for benefits.

An experienced disability lawyer can help you navigate this complex process. Our North Carolina disability attorneys have helped hundreds of clients obtain the disability benefits they need and deserve.

For a FREE consultation concerning your disability claim for hearing loss or deafness, please call 1-800-525-7111 today.

There is no obligation and you won’t pay any attorney fees unless we win your case or appeal and you receive disability for deafness or hearing problems.

Disability for Individuals with Cochlear Implants

Have you received cochlear implants for hearing loss?

The SSA “Listing” for hearing impairment includes a special category for people who have had cochlear implants.

The SSA recognizes that a person who has received these implants has already been diagnosed with profound hearing loss; otherwise they would not have received the implant(s). If you get implants in one or both ears, you automatically qualify for benefits for a year after the implantation. However, keep in mind that if the implants improve your hearing as they normally do, your benefits will be terminated after that year unless you have other qualifying impairments.

Are You Seeking Disability Benefits for Hearing Loss or Deafness?

The experienced North Carolina disability lawyers at Riddle & Brantley have helped many clients with hearing loss secure disability benefits.

“Without your help, I would not have received my Social Security disability benefits.”

–Charlotte R., Riddle & Brantley client

Our team is led by Scott Scurfield, an attorney and Board-Certified Specialist in Social Security Disability, who can evaluate your claim and advise you on your best available legal options for seeking SSD or SSDI benefits.

For a FREE, no-obligation consultation with a North Carolina disability lawyer, please call 1-800-525-7111 or complete the fast and convenient form below.

There is no obligation and, as always, you won’t pay any upfront costs or attorney fees unless we win your claim or appeal and you receive disability payments for hearing loss or deafness.

Call 1-800-525-7111 today and let’s review your claim.

“There is nothing more satisfying than helping North Carolinians with disabilities get the benefits they need and deserve. We would love to help however we can.”

Don’t wait — you don’t have to go through this alone. We understand what you and your loved ones are going through and we would love to help.

Our disability lawyers handle claims and appeals across the entire state of North Carolina, including:

We also handle claims throughout the greater Charlotte area.

Justice Counts for those suffering from disability, and you may be entitled to Social Security disability benefits for hearing loss or deafness.

Please call 1-800-525-7111 today and let’s review your claim.

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