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Individuals who are unable to work due to a disability can collect long-term benefits from a private disability insurance plan as well as Social Security. The process of qualifying for those benefits, however, is not automatic. Applicants must often satisfy strict criteria to verify that their health issues fall within the definition of “disabled” under …
The Social Security Administration will consider you disabled if your disability prevents you from participating in substantial gainful activities. It will also consider you disabled if that condition keeps you from performing work-related tasks, and if your condition lasts a year or ultimately leads to your demise. In measuring your disability against this definition, the …
Macular degeneration is a common eye disorder that mainly affects people over 50. Symptoms of macular degeneration include blurred or reduced central vision. This is due to the thinning of the macula, the part of the retina responsible for clear vision in your direct line of sight. There are two types of macular degeneration in …
Most of the time, Social Security Disability back payments are not taxable, but it depends on how much money you make per year and how big your lump sum payment is. If you have any questions about your Disability payments or if you’re having trouble getting approved, a social security disability lawyer in Houston can …
In recognition of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, the disability denial attorneys at Marc Whitehead & Associates would like to focus attention on this often misdiagnosed disease that claims the lives of over 14,000 women in the U.S. each year. According to the American Cancer Society, one in 78 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer …
When your nerve roots or spinal cord become damaged due to disease, you can lose some – or all – of your ability to move. In some cases, you may just feel numbness in certain areas of your body. More severe cases, though, can cause people to experience paralysis in their arms, legs, or even from the neck down.
Obviously, people who can’t move tend to have trouble finding work, so the Social Security Administration has chosen to recognize this as a potentially disabling condition. All you need to do to get Social Security disability benefits is qualify.
That means either matching a listing in the Listings of Impairments or proving that your issue is the equivalent of a condition included in the Listings.
Is your hearing going? Do you suffer from bouts of tinnitus? Have you had “attacks” where you have trouble keeping your balance in normal situations?
If all of these things seem to describe your condition, it is possible that you may be suffering from an impairment that the Social Security Administration classifies in its Listings of Impairments as Disturbance of Labryrinthine-Vestibular Function. This means that you have a recognized disability and may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits.
How do you qualify? The SSA has offers two possible ways to do this:
Visual acuity relates to your ability to see things at a distance and see detail. Your visual field reflects how wide of an angle you can see at – vertical and horizontal. Visual efficiency combines both of these things. If you are experiencing a loss of visual efficiency, it means you can only see things within a narrow window, and that the clarity isn’t very good, even in that window.
Poor visual efficiency not only impacts your ability to hold a job but also to successfully engage in the activities of daily living, so it’s no surprise the Social Security Administration has included it in their Listings of Impairments. This compendium of disorders lists every single disability that Social Security recognizes and includes a definition and criteria to qualify for benefits for each one.
A normal person has a pretty wide visual field. They can see 60 degrees inward (toward their nose), 100 degrees outward (away from their nose), 75 degrees below the horizontal, and 60 degrees above it. If you’re having trouble imagining what those numbers really mean, think about how you can often see something “out of the corner of your eye.” This ability is related to the height and width of your visual field.
But for those whose visual field is contracting, this is an impossibility. Rather than the panorama that most of us are used to, seeing for them is more like looking through a tunnel. As you might imagine, this inability to see anything that isn’t right in front of you can make even simple tasks daunting. Those with a severe visual field contraction often have trouble finding and keeping a job.
When you are talking about visual acuity, you are dealing with the ability to effectively see detail. That means being about to do things like read or make out small objects when they are at a significant distance from you. Obviously, if you are unable to do this, it can pose a serious roadblock to your ability to perform at many different kinds of jobs or even live a normal life.
That is why the Social Security Administration includes a Loss of Visual Acuity as a disability that can qualify you for Social Security benefits. But you have to prove that you are eligible before you can start receiving those benefits. That means that you either need to:
