How Can You Qualify For Disability Benefits With Menieres Disease
Vertigos unpredictable nature makes working full-time difficult . You might suffer permanent hearing loss along with fatigue, emotional distress, depression and anxiety. Vertigo can also make you lose your balance. This increases your risk for workplace falls and accidents. Driving or operating heavy machinery is also difficult. Your doctor likely told you those jobs are too dangerous for people with Menieres disease.
The Social Security Administration categorizes Menieres disease under Medical Listing 2.07. Because the disease can affect people differently, it must meet the following disability qualifications:
Menieres Disease Disability Claim Help And Tips
If your disability insurance carrier has claimed that your Ménières disease is not disabling, or you are considering filing a short or long term disability claim, then disability insurance attorneys Dell & Schaefer can assist you. Ménières disease is often categorized by insurance companies as a subjective complaint condition and they attempt to deny the claim due to a lack of objective evidence. Just because the cause of Ménières disease is unknown does not necessarily mean that the restrictions and limitations it causes are not objective. Our disability lawyers have helped numerous claimants that have been unable to work in any occupation as a result of Ménières. It is critical to hire a disability insurance lawyer that understands Ménières disease and can provide you with references of actual clients that have received long term disability benefits for the conditions. We have represented claimants with Ménières that worked as airline pilots, business owners, and engineers. We always recommend that our clients with Ménières receive treatment from an experienced otolaryngologist .
Common Symptoms Of Menieres Syndrome
As mentioned before, symptoms for menieres syndrome can include:
- vertigo
- hearing loss
- nausea.
- And more
If you are experiencing a combination of the symptoms discussed, please let your health care provider know and request to be evaluated for Menieres disease. A diagnosis of Meniere can involve vestibular tests but is fairly simple to do. An audiometric exam is needed to establish a diagnosis for Menieres disease. An audiometric exam tests for hearing loss and other diseases of the ear like Menieres disease that can affect the disturbed function of vestibular labyrinth. The testing typically consists of two parts: a speech discrimination test and a pure-tone test. A speech discrimination test determines your ability to differentiate words. A pure-tone test is a type of hearing test that evaluates your ability to hear sounds at different frequencies and volumes .
In addition, your health care provider may ask questions about your other symptoms and medical conditions. They may ask about the frequency and length of time you experience vertigo, dizziness and/or loss of balance prior to your test results. Your answers to these questions will help them properly diagnosis you and determine the severity of your condition as well as your eligibility. Therefore, it is very important for you to vocalize your symptoms and explain what you are experiencing as clearly as possible.
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Is Mnire’s Disease A Disability
Ménière’s Disease can cause an array of chronic and serious physical symptoms that can result in long term disability. The symptoms of Ménière’s Disease can be extremely limiting and distressing, causing cognitive problems and secondary emotional issues, such as depression and anxiety.
In order to receive disability benefits, you will have to show the insurance company how your symptoms prevent you from working.
Physical symptoms of Ménière’s Disease may vary in severity and fluctuate over time, with some days or weeks being much worse than others. Physical symptoms include:
- Vertigo
- Tinnitus
- Feeling of pressure or fullness in the ears
- Cognitive problems
Secondary emotional symptoms that that may develop due to an Ménière’s Disease include:
- Depression
- Social anxiety and social isolation
- Panic disorders
How To Win Disability Benefits For Vestibular Disorders
1. Proper diagnosis and testing are crucial.
To win disability benefits, it is critical that you get the correct medical tests for your condition and a definitive diagnosis from your doctor. These are evidence that you must include in your application. Vestibular disorders are often misdiagnosed since their symptoms, like dizziness and headaches, are very common and are linked to other medical conditions.
Testing for vestibular disorders involves the stimulation of the inner ear, eyes, and head to look for any abnormalities in the functioning of the vestibular system. These tests include the following:
2. Your Credibility is Critical
3. Give a proper description of job demands.
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Qualify With A Medical
If you dont meet the requirements for SSDI for Menieres disease, you may still qualify with a medical-vocational allowance. A medical-vocational allowance is used when a disability does not meet the SSAs criteria for approval, but is still serious enough to prevent the applicant from engaging in substantial gainful employment . Any other disabilities or symptoms can be included in your evaluation.
Medical Evidence You Need To Meet The Listing
Because symptoms of balance disorders such as vertigo can fluctuate over time and go into long periods of remission, it is important that you provide Social Security with medical records dating to when your symptoms first began. The medical records must include a detailed description of how long your attacks last, how severe they are, and how often they happen.
Vertigo symptoms include feelings of being in motion and positional disorientation it is helpful to keep a log as to the frequency of the attacks and how they affect your ability to engage in your daily activities. You should also be able to demonstrate that you experience vertigo versus mere dizziness. If your doctor witnesses an episode of Ménière’s related vertigo, he or she should describe whether you suffered from any observable symptoms like nausea, vomiting, incapacitation, or lack of muscle coordination.
You should provide Social Security with a complete list of all doctors you have seen to treat or diagnose your vestibular balance disorder and any hospital or clinics you have visited. Although Social Security must accept evidence from most licensed doctors, it often gives greater weight to the opinions and observations of doctors who specialize in your particular illness, such as neuro-otolaryngologists.
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Disability Benefits For Menieres Disease
Because Menieres disease is so difficult to define and diagnose, there isnt a specific SSDI Blue Book listing that can be used to determine whether or not a person will be qualified for disability benefits. There are, however, a few ways that a person can qualify for benefits if the symptoms are severe enough.
One of the qualifications to be considered for disability benefits for Menieres disease is that the person has Menieres disease or is expected to have the condition for at least 12 consecutive months.
People applying for benefits must also have episodes of vertigo that are ongoing, loss of hearing, tinnitus, and poor functioning in the vestibular pathway.
For people who dont meet these requirements, theres another way to receive benefits. Applicants can still meet the requirements to receive SSDI benefits by applying under the residual functioning capacity test. This assessment is designed to determine whether or not the applicants symptoms impair them enough to make it impossible to work.
In the residual functional capacity assessment, the list of impairments that the applicant has will be compared with the types of jobs that theyve held in the past to determine whether or not there is work that the applicant is qualified to do.
How Menieres Disease Can Impact Your Ability To Work
Working can be difficult for those who suffer from Menieres due to the unpredictable episodes of vertigo that can strike at any time. Physical work can be dangerous for those who have Menieres due to the risk of falling or losing balance. Even sedentary work may become difficult, as episodes of vertigo can often be debilitating and cause the individual to lose their focus and concentration. Hearing loss associated with Menieres can also impair your ability to perform certain work-related tasks.
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What Is Menieres Disease
As a disorder of the inner ear, which is responsible for both hearing and sense of balance, Menieres disease can cause a variety of complications, such as dizziness and even hearing loss. More often than not, Menieres disease will only affect one ear.
The exact cause of this disorder is unknown, but symptoms of the disease seem to be caused by a buildup of fluid in the Eustachian tubes of the inner ear. More than likely, there are a combination of factors that contribute to this disorder. Some of these potential factors include blockage because of an anatomical abnormality, a viral infection, allergies, genetic predispositions, and a dysfunctional immune response.
While Menieres disease is chronic, with early treatment and changes in lifestyle, symptoms can subside after a few years. Also, people with Menieres disease typically have episodes, and there can be periods of time where the person with the disease doesnt experience any symptoms.
Both men and women can get Menieres disease at any age, but it most often occurs in people who are between the ages of 40 and 60, and women are statistically more likely to get it than men. Menieres disease is fairly uncommon, with about 615,000 people in the U.S. who have the disorder.
But First You Have To Know If You Qualify
You may qualify for Social Security disability if you meet the requirements of Section 2.07 of the Listing of Impairments. Menieres disease is explicitly included in Section 2.07 which covers disturbances of labyrinthine-vestibular function. Pursuant to this section, you may qualify for Social Security disability if all three of the following are true:
- You have frequent episodes of balance disturbance, and progressive hearing loss.
- Your disturbed function of vestibular labyrinth is demonstrated by caloric or other vestibular tests.
- Your hearing loss is established by audiometry.
If you do not meet the requirements of Section 2.07 and you cannot work, you will need to prove to the Social Security Administration that your residual functional capacity is reduced to the point where you can no longer work.
You will need medical evidence to prove your eligibility regardless of which way you qualify for benefits.
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How Does Menieres Disease Affect Your Ability To Work
It is next to impossible to concentrate when faced with Menieres disease and the associated symptoms. Patients never know when they are going to experience a spell, when they will need to sit down or hold on to a surface just to make it through an attack. Other symptoms can be stress induced, often making working challenging.
This kind of disorientation makes it difficult to concentrate, to work in visually busy environments and to perform the normal tasks of living. Menieres disease can impair a persons ability to perform the tasks of their job. The vertigo makes the workplace a dangerous place. People suffering from Menieres disease cannot do physical labor, and a simple task like getting up from a chair to cross the room may be a major challenge. Hearing loss makes using the telephone difficult or impossible.
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Filing Va Disability Claims For Ear Conditions
If you have been diagnosed with Menieres disease or believe that you suffer from Menieres disease, as a result of your time in service, you can file a claim for disability with the Veterans Administration by visiting their website. You can also hire a disability attorney such as one of the attorneys at Hill & Ponton to help you with your claim and determining your residual functional capacity . Our attorneys are dedicated to working with former service members, so veterans can obtain the disability compensation they deserve. If your claim has been denied, contact us today for a free case evaluation.
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Disability Available For Menieres Disease
You might have a strong enough case to receive Menieres disease disability benefits depending on the severity of your symptoms. Menieres disease lists in Section 2.07 of the blue Book, which is the medical guide used by the Social Security Administration to determine whether to approve or deny claims.
For Menieres disease, you must prove that you suffer from vertigo, as well as frequent attacks of balance disturbance Even if you receive benefits for a Menieres disease disability claim, the SSA might request that you undergo a Residual Functional Capacity assessment to determine whether you can still work, but perform different job functions.
The SSA distinguishes between different types of work, with light work and stationary work representing the two most common types of work classifications for someone suffering from Menieres disease.
Light work allows you to lift objects that weigh no more than 20 pounds at a time. For repetitive lifting, you cannot life objects that weigh more than 10 pounds.
To qualify for light work, you must demonstrate during your RFC that you are capable standing and walking at least part of the time during a shift. Sedentary work prevents you from lifting more than 10 pounds at a time.
Although sedentary refers to sitting, sedentary work can involve some standing and walking. If this is part of the daily routine for your job, an RFC assessment will measure your ability to walk and stand for short periods during a typical workday.
Disability From Vestibular Disorders: You Are Not Alone
The vestibular system consists of parts of the brain and inner ear that provide humans with spatial orientation and a sense of balance. A dysfunction in this system, which can be caused by disease, injury or environmental factors, can pose a variety of difficulties for the affected individual.Vestibular disorders are a set of misunderstood diseases that affect over a million Canadians and millions more around the world. The condition is most prevalent among people from the age of 40 and above, but it can affect anyone even very young children.
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Listing : Disturbance Of Labyrinthine
Social Security discusses the criteria for automatic approval for vestibular balance disorders under Listing 2.07. To meet the criteria for Listing 2.07, you must prove that your labyrinthine-vestibular disorder or Ménière’s disease has caused recurrent problems with your balance, tinnitus , and a gradual decrease in your ability to hear. In addition to these basic requirements, you must provide Social Security with the following:
- results that show abnormal function of your vestibular labyrinth established by examinations such as positional or caloric testing , and
- a test that demonstrates your hearing loss.
If you can prove that your vestibular hearing disorder meets all of the criteria, your claim will be automatically approved. If you don’t have problems with both balance and ringing in the ears, but you do have hearing loss, you may be able to qualify under hearing loss alone.
When You Need Legal Assistance
If you or family members suffer from Ménière’s disease or any type of hearing disorder, let us help you with the SS disability claims process. If this disease has negatively affected your life and makes it impossible to work, contact Cuddigan Law at 933-5405. Well evaluate your claim to determine if you qualify for benefits.
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Can You Claim Incapacity For Meniere’s Disease
If you be afflicted by Menieres Disease and your signs are so critical you are not able to paintings, chances are you’ll qualify for disability advantages from the Social Security Administration . Menieres Disease is an inside ear disorder the place positional consciousness and stability control are positioned.
Experiencing Issues With Hearing And Balance
Are you currently experiencing issues with hearing, episodes of vertigo, balance issues and looking for a disability lawyer? It is possible that you suffer from Menieres disease , a disturbance of labyrinthine-vestibular function. This condition, and ear conditions like it, may qualify you for VA Disability benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Scheduling a free consultation or speaking with a disability law firm could save you thousands in the future and help you face these issues.
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Consult A Disability Benefit Lawyer
Learn more about the SSDI application process in Boston disability attorney John Keefes book, Unlocking the Mystery: The Essential Guide for Navigating the Social Security Disability Claims Process. To discuss your claim with one of our New England SSDI lawyers, contact Keefe Disability Law at 888-904-6847.
What Causes Meneires Disease
Doctors dont know the initial cause of Meneires, which can make it difficult to fine a good service connection. At the same time, because of the range of theories about its cause, you might be able to prove your symptoms and one of these events to prove your service-connection.
- Viral infections
- High blood pressure
- Physical injury to the vestibular nerves
Whatever the cause, an increase of fluid in the middle ear is the main detectable problem when you have an attack. It is hard to catch this in a doctors office, but an MRI or other testing may show that you have had an attack in the past.
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How Terry Dow Survived Menieres Disease And Qualified For Medical Disability
PERSONAL HISTORY
All of my life I had been plagued with sinus infections! As I came through my teen years and into my early twenties, I attributed this to having broken my nose three times. Then I moved from Ohio to Virginia and the sinus infections seemed to get lots better. That lasted for almost 9 years. I broke my nose in my early thirties after moving from Virginia to North Carolina. Then I moved from the East Coast of NC to mid-state. For some reason, I started getting sinus infections again.
Try as I may, I could never find a reason for this. The two main changes were that I moved away from the coast so I no longer had ocean air to breathe and I went from working outside to working inside in a cubicle environment. Maybe those things contributed maybe not.
After working inside for about a year, the sinus infections began to show up again. But this time, my ears began to be affected too. It seemed that each time I would have BOTH infections instead of just one. As an added bonus, I began to experience dizziness, nausea, and ringing in my right ear. As I look back now, that MUST have been the beginning of what has changed my life forever!
MY EMPLOYERS REACTION
Though my place of work has a very good Sickness & Accident policy, after missing work for the third or forth bout of sinus and ear infections, I was brought into my mangers office and was told that I was missing too much work. .
She was physically perfect. There had been a placental abruption .