How Long Will I Have To Wait To Receive Long Term Disability Benefits
In most cases, you should receive your first long term disability payment within 90 days of being approved. Unfortunately, in certain cases, it may take months to receive your first payment, which is yet another reason why you need an experienced legal team on your side who can work to streamline the process as best as possible. Remember, Walker & Hern is always on your side, even when the insurance companies arent. You can depend on us to fight for your right to the benefits you deserve.
How To Deal With Ssd
One of the key things I have found to help cope with SSD is humour, and the ability to laugh and not take my mistakes too seriously. Sometimes my brain interprets things people say as the most ridiculous things- which says quite a bit about my imagination! Comic relief has helped to get through awkward situations while growing up. I notice people don’t hold back as much when it comes to making fun of this kind of disability either- someone in a wheelchair might not be the butt end of quite so many jokes .
Another important lesson I have learnt is to be open and tell people as soon as possible about being deaf in one ear. I don’t like to introduce myself in this waybecause I don’t like to be identified as ‘”that half-deaf girl”, plus I like to give people time to regard me as ‘normal’ before thinking they have to shout or talk to me slowly like a halfwit. But as soon as I feel comfortable I will explain. Particularly if someone asks why I keep swapping sides if they walk on my right-hand side. The worst thing is for unsuspecting people to be rude or angry because they don’t realize I have a hearing problem, and think I am just ignoring them, blanking them, or not paying attention. Explaining the issue resolves this .
What Are Your Rights If You Have A Hearing Loss In Australia
Its true we do live in the lucky country, particularly when it comes to hearing loss and available services. The Australian Government supports people with hearing loss in various ways and you should know your rights to ensure youre claiming all relevant services to assist in your communication augmentation.
In Australia, hearing impairment and deafness is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act which makes it against the law to discriminate against a person who has a hearing loss.
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Stigma And The Social Construction Of Disability
If baby boomers who have not learned electroniccommunication become a despised, as opposed to merely statistical,minority, and if, as a result, they become cut off from friends andacquaintances who rely on email and social media for long-distancecommunication, and who dismiss them as luddites and fogeys, they willlearn something about the social construction of disability. They willlearn even more if they cannot cross the digital divideor can do so only at considerable economic cost or cognitive strain,or if they are still regarded as luddites and fogeys even when theydo. They will experience something of the stigma and discriminationthat cut across impairments.
The second type of disability experience, then, is of attitudinalbarriers to ordinary activity that are facts of life for people withdisabilities. According to the social model, which highlights thesebarriers, the disability experience that links peoplewith cystic fibrosis to people with epilepsy, learning disabilities,or cerebral palsy is one of having to deal daily with the largelynegative responses of others. These negative responses involve severalelements. The most discussed is overt stigmatization anddiscrimination: being treated as a social outcast, losing out on jobs,friends, or partners, because other people do not want to interactwith a person with a disability, or enduring grossly inadequateaccommodation because reasonable accommodation is thought too costlyor troublesome.
Types Of Hearing Loss
Before we describe the types of hearing loss a person may have, its useful to know that sound is measured by:
- its loudness or intensity and
- its frequency or pitch .
Hearing loss is generally described as slight, mild, moderate, severe, or profound, depending upon how well a person can hear the intensities or frequencies most strongly associated with speech. Impairments in hearing can occur in either or both areas, and may exist in only one ear or in both ears. Generally, only children whose hearing loss is greater than 90 decibels are considered deaf.
There are four types of hearing loss, as follows :
Conductive hearing losses are caused by diseases or obstructions in the outer or middle ear . Conductive hearing losses usually affect all frequencies of hearing evenly and do not result in severe losses. A person with a conductive hearing loss usually is able to use a hearing aid well or can be helped medically or surgically.
Sensorineural hearing losses result from damage to the delicate sensory hair cells of the inner ear or the nerves that supply it. These hearing losses can range from mild to profound. They often affect the persons ability to hear certain frequencies more than others. Thus, even with amplification to increase the sound level, a person with a sensorineural hearing loss may perceive distorted sounds, sometimes making the successful use of a hearing aid impossible.
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Other Considerations For Hearing Loss Eligibility
There are a few more things to keep in mind before applying. If you meet the above qualifying criteria but still earn more than $1,190 per month, you will not qualify for disability benefits. For example, if your employer is able to modify your job to accommodate your hearing loss, or if youve always worked at a job that didnt require good hearing, you wont be approved to receive benefits.
You also will not be approved if you only have hearing loss in one ear, even if the other ear is completely deaf since all hearing loss is evaluated using your best ear by the SSA.
Hearing Loss Vs Cognitive Impairments
Before filing a long term disability claim for your tinnitus, you must be prepared for the insurance company to focus on your hearing loss . This is an extremely common problem that most long term disability claimants with tinnitus face.
Time and time again, insurance companies erroneously deny legitimate tinnitus long term disability claims due to lack of substantial hearing loss. Yet, the most disabling cases of tinnitus often have nothing to do with hearing loss. Rather, the most disabling cases are usually due to an inability to concentrate, focus, sleep, or other cognitive difficulties. In some cases, the condition may even be disabling due to secondary depression and/or anxiety.
Records of these cognitive impairments as a result of tinnitus can help explain to your insurance company why you are unable to perform your job duties. They are just as important, if not more so, than your physical symptoms.
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Tips On Applying For Disability With Hearing Loss
Severe hearing loss is a qualified disability under the Social Security Disability Act, but you must prove to the Social Security Administration that you meet all eligibility requirements in order to receive Social Security Disability . The following tips may prevent you from experiencing hang-ups or common hurdles in the application process.
Verify Your Hearing Loss Medically Qualifies You for Benefits
The SSA sets specific measurements for what it considers disabling hearing loss. The Blue Book disability listing for hearing loss outlines these requirements:
- An average hearing threshold of 90 decibels or greater in the better ear, documented through air condition tests AND a hearing threshold in the better ear of 60 decibels or higher, documented through bone conduction tests
- A word recognition score of 40% or lower in the better ear, documented through tests in which a list of standardized, monosyllabic and phonetically balanced words are used.
Let your doctor know you are planning to apply for disability and ask him or her to review the specifics of the hearing loss Blue Book listing. An informed physician can ensure your medical records include the right diagnostic tests and that your hearing evaluation results are recorded in the manner that the SSA requires.
Ensure Your Hearing Tests are Performed as the SSA Requires
Confirm and Document Your Hearing Loss is Severe Enough to Prevent Reasonable Accommodations by Your Employer
Hire a Lawyer
Tips For Teachers And Parents
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders strongly endorses early intervention. This can limit communication hurdles. Typically, both oral and manual communication are used with and taught to children with hearing impairments. Voice and articulation training is often recommended to help students learn to form the sounds which they cannot hear.
Designating a note taker can allow a student with a hearing impairment to concentrate fully on listening to a lecture. A combination of traditional communication, lip reading, sign language and assistive technology can compensate for issues which make listening to lectures and participating in class discussions challenging. Children who read lips often need to sit close to the teacher, while those who use sign language may use an interpreter. Turning on captions during a video can reiterate what a student may pick up from his or her amplifying device.
Finally, its important that parents and teachers dont underestimate a childs intelligence based on a hearing impairment. Arizonas Department of Educations Parent Information Network warns, For most children with hearing impairments, language acquisition and language development are significantly delayed. As a result, some may incorrectly estimate the childs intelligence as low. Avoid this mistake!
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Compensation For Hearing Injuries
If your hearing loss is a result of being exposed to noise in your job or an accident at work, you may be entitled to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. Whether you decide to claim this benefit, you may also be eligible for compensation through the civil courts for your work-induced hearing loss. However, you must claim within three years of when your industrial accident happened or when your occupational deafness started.
If your hearing loss or deafness was caused by armed forces service, then you can be eligible for compensation from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme . This can be a monthly payment or one lump sum.
Hearing loss is a serious problem that can have a considerable impact on your mental and physical health, personal relationships, career and earning potential. While there is free treatment available, there is also a range of benefits that you may qualify that are designed to help alleviate some of the stress and financial pressure that can accompany hearing loss.
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How Much Of Hearing Loss Is A Disability
The issue is no longer whether hearing loss qualifies for disability, but when we can identify it as a disability. Without the right treatment, most hearing loss or impairment issues are degenerative. This means that they continue to deteriorate with time, and treatment only helps slow the process.
When can your loss of hearing be regarded as a disability? Again, this depends on who youre asking and why. For example, to gain any form of benefits, there are certain levels that people wearing hearing aids need to reach. These are:
- Failure to repeat 40% of the words in a test for word recognition
- A hearing threshold that falls below 60 dB according to bone conduction.
- A hearing threshold of 90 dB or more according to an air conduction
Once a person reaches any of the three thresholds or levels above, they may be eligible to receive disability grants for their hearing impairment.
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Hearing Loss In Older People
Hearing loss increases sharply with age nearly 42% of those aged over 50 years have hearing loss, increasing to about 71% of people aged 70+.
About 400,000 older people live in care homes and are disproportionately affected by hearing loss, with approximately 75% of residents having a hearing problem.
Unassisted hearing loss have a significant impact on older people leading to social isolation, depression, reduced quality of life and loss of independence and mobility.
When Your Hearing Loss Doesn’t Meet The Listing Requirements
If your hearing loss does not meet the SSA’s disability listing for profound hearing loss, above, you still might be able to get disability if you can show that there are no jobs you can do with your amount of hearing loss.
The SSA will consider how your hearing loss affects your capacity to communicate, follow instructions, and do various jobs. It will then assign you an “RFC,” which stands for residual functional capacity, a type of rating of the type of work you can do. In your RFC, the SSA will include restrictions related to your hearing loss on the work you can do.
For instance, if your average hearing threshold sensitivity is 70 dB is your better ear, you can’t do work that requires good hearing and good word recognition. This would rule out work requiring communicating with the public or over the telephone or radio, or jobs that require the operation of hazardous machinery. However, the SSA could probably find other jobs you could do where hearing isn’t important. But if you don’t have the job skills or education to do those jobs, you might be able to get disability benefits based on a “medical-vocational allowance.” This is especially likely if you are older than 55.
The SSA will still want to see various audiometry tests in your medical records, including pure tone, bone conduction, HINT word recognition tests, and caloric and vestibular function tests.
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Deafness Employment Statistics Uk
At least 4.4 million people with hearing loss are of working age.
The employment rate for those with hearing loss is 65%, compared to 79% of people with no long-term health issue or disability.
On average, people with hearing loss are paid £2,000 less per year than the general population this amounts to £4 billion per year in lost income across the UK.
Recent estimates suggest that the UK economy loses £25 billion a year in lost productivity and unemployment due to hearing loss.
Research in 2014 on the experience of people with hearing loss and employment found that:
- Almost three-quarters of respondents felt that their employment opportunities were limited because of their hearing loss.
- 70% agreed that their hearing loss sometimes prevented them from fulfilling their potential at work.
- Just over two-thirds agreed that they sometimes felt isolated at work because of their hearing loss.
- Two-fifths had retired early due to the impact of their hearing loss and struggles with communication at work.
What Does It Mean To Be Deaf In One Ear
Hearing loss in one ear is also known as Single Sided Deafness or simply SSD for short. It is a condition where there is significant or total hearing loss in one ear. If you have SSD, your hearing loss can be helped with a hearing aid which transmits sounds from the deaf ear to a hearing aid in your better ear.
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Starting A Disability Claim For Hearing Loss
If you don’t know whether you are eligible for Social Security disability insurance or Supplemental Security Income , you can apply for both. Call the SSA at 800-772-1213 to set up an appointment to fill out an application for disability. When you fill out your application, include both how your hearing loss affects your life outside of work and how it impairs your ability to work.
If you have both a hearing loss and another physical impairment, be sure to include symptoms of the other physical impairment as well. If you need help with the process, or if you’ve been denied, talk to a disability attorney for advice on how to proceed.
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Quick Statistics About Hearing Impairment & Deafness
In India, alone more than 1 million cases of deafness are recorded every year. The number is high in global countries also. In the United States, more than 200,000 issues of this common health issues are recorded annually. World Health Organization reports says that 5% of world population has total or significant loss of hearing. For the age group of 65 and above almost one third are suffering from this disease. Most of them are residing in South Asia, the Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa regions.
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Social Security Disability Benefits For Hearing Loss
If you have suffered from hearing loss and it is impacting your ability to work, you may be eligible to receive Social Security Disability benefits. In order to even be considered eligible for benefits, you must have worked long enough to have paid enough credits in to Social Security Disability Insurance and you must have paid enough taxes in to the Social Security Administration .
SSDI benefits are eligible for profound hearing loss of deafness, but not for hearing loss that is considered mild or moderate. The SSA details how significant your hearing loss must be in order to qualify for SSDI benefits. You may qualify for SSDI benefits because of severe hearing loss even if your hearing loss may correctable with a cochlear implant even if you decide to not undergo surgery.
According to the National Institute of Center for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and the National Institutes of Health , there are more than 37 million American adults experiencing some kind of hearing loss. Approximately one-fourth of the adults older than 65 experience disabling hearing loss. The numbers are lower with younger groups, and some 60,000 U.S. adults have undergone cochlear implantation.
While cochlear implantation may make an impact on your hearing loss, it is an expensive venture and not all insurance policies cover the procedure. Some individuals may opt out of getting the procedure for various reasons, including the expense.