How to Get SSDI for Tinnitus and How Our Attorneys Can Help
Living with tinnitus can be incredibly challenging. The constant ringing, buzzing, or hissing in your ears can interfere with your ability to concentrate, sleep, and even perform everyday tasks. And if it’s affecting your life to the point where you can’t work, you might be wondering if you can get SSDI for tinnitus.
We have a client right now who developed tinnitus after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) at work. They experienced debilitating, permanent ringing in the ears that may lead to partial deafness in the future.
Thankfully, she’s working with us to get the benefits she needs.
Understanding Tinnitus and SSDI
Tinnitus is a condition where someone perceives a noise or ringing in their ears when no external sound is present. It can range from a mild annoyance to a severe, debilitating condition. Causes include:
- Exposure to loud noises
- Age-related hearing loss
- Head injuries or traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- And more.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) oversees the disability program. They use something called the Blue Book to outline all the different impairments that qualify you for SSDI. They don’t have a specific listing for tinnitus in the Blue Book, but you can qualify under other listings if your tinnitus is part of another condition.
In general, proving your SSDI claim means showing you have a disability that significantly impacts your ability to work.
Challenges in Proving Tinnitus for SSDI
To be successful in an SSDI for tinnitus claim, you should consider a few potential challenges:
1. Subjective Nature: Tinnitus is a subjective condition, meaning it’s based on personal experience rather than measurable symptoms. This makes it harder to prove its severity and impact on your ability to work. It will likely help if you can connect the tinnitus symptoms to another causal condition, like a TBI.
2. Lack of Objective Tests: There’s no definitive test for tinnitus at this point. Medical evidence usually includes hearing tests and evaluations by audiologists. But these can’t usually show the severity of the tinnitus itself. You’ll want to gather all medical records to show as full a picture as possible of what causes the tinnitus and/or to what degree it impacts your hearing.
3. Documenting Work Limitations: Because tinnitus is so subjective, you and your attorney will want to gather plenty of additional evidence. Consider performance reviews and other work documents to show in what ways the tinnitus affected you. This includes documenting how the condition affects your concentration, ability to communicate, and overall daily functioning.
How Our SSDI Attorneys Can Help
Navigating the SSDI application and appeals process for tinnitus can be complex and frustrating. Fortunately, our experienced SSDI attorneys can help.
We start by helping you gather all necessary medical records and documentation, including: audiologist reports, hearing tests, and any other relevant medical evaluations. We also help get statements from healthcare providers describing the severity of your tinnitus and how it affects your daily life and ability to work. All to build a compelling case and show how your tinnitus meets the SSA’s criteria for disability.
Our team has extensive experience with complex SSDI claims. And we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only get paid if we win your case. Even then, it’s only a fraction of your past-due benefits. You keep everything moving forward.
If tinnitus is preventing you from working, you don’t have to navigate the SSDI process alone. Contact us today for a free consultation and let our experienced SSDI attorneys help you get the benefits you need to keep going.