Claiming Social Security Disability For Special Sense and Speech Disorders

Social Security’s rules recognize a wide variety of special senses and speech conditions which, if severe enough, may qualify for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration. The Listing of Impairments addresses these conditions in section 2.00 Special Senses and Speech.

Special Sense and Speech Disorders

These conditions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Loss of visual acuity. Remaining vision in the better eye after best correction is 20/200 or less; Contraction of the visual field in the better eye; Loss of visual efficiency; Disturbance of labyrinthine? vestibular function (including Meniere’s disease), characterized by a history of frequent attacks of balance disturbance, tinnitus, and progressive loss of hearing.
• Hearing impairments (hearing not restorable by a hearing aid) manifested by: (A) Average hearing threshold sensitivity for air conduction of 90decibels or greater, and for bone conduction to corresponding maximal levels, in the better ear, determined by the simple average of hearing threshold levels at 500, 1000, and 2000hz. (see 2.00B1); or (B) Speech discrimination scores of 40 percent or less in the better ear.
• Loss of speech due to any cause, with an inability to produce by any means speech that can be heard, understood, or sustained.
• Meniere’s Disease is an inner ear disorder that affects an individual’s balance and hearing. The inner ear is comprised of semicircular canals, or labyrinths, which are fluid-filled tubes. These canals (as well as a nerve in your skull) help interpret your body’s position and maintain your balance. The endolymphatic sac helps filter and remove fluid in the semicircular canals. Meniere’s disease occurs when the endolymphatic sac becomes swollen.

Section 2.00 of the Listing of Impairments

Section 2.00 includes the following impairments:

2.01 Category of Impairments, Special Senses and Speech

2.02 Loss of Central Visual Acuity. Remaining vision in the better eye after best correction is 20/200 or less; 

2.03 Contraction of the visual field in the better eye, with

1. The widest diameter subtending an angle around the point of fixation no greater than 20 degrees; or
2. An MD of 22 decibels or greater, determined by automated static threshold perimetry that measures the central 30 degrees of the visual field (see 2.00A6d); or
3. A visual field efficiency of 20 percent or less, determined by kinetic perimetry (see 2.00A7c).

2.04 Loss of visual efficiency, or visual impairment, in the better eye.

2.07 Disturbance of labyrinthine-vestibular function (including Meniere’s disease), characterized by a history of frequent attacks of balance disturbance, tinnitus, and progressive loss of hearing. With both:

1. Disturbed function of vestibular labyrinth demonstrated by caloric or other vestibular tests; and
2. Hearing loss established by audiometry.

2.09 Loss of speech due to any cause, with an inability to produce by any means speech that can be heard, understood, or sustained.

2.10 Hearing loss not treated with cochlear implantation: 

1. An average air conduction hearing threshold of 90 decibels or greater in the better ear and an average bone conduction hearing threshold of 60 decibels or greater in the better ear (see 2.00B2c); or
2. A word recognition score of 40 percent or less in the better ear determined using a standardized list of phonetically balanced monosyllabic words (see 2.00B2e).

2.11 Hearing loss treated with cochlear implantation:

1. Consider under a disability for 1 year after initial implantation; or
2. If more than 1 year after initial implantation, a word recognition score of 60 percent or less determined using the HINT (see 2.00B3b).

2.00 Special Senses and Speech.

Get Help with Your Social Security Disability Claim

If you have one of these special sense or speech conditions and are just looking to see whether you qualify for disability benefits with the Social Security Administration, call Pensacola Social Security Disability attorney Nick A. Ortiz. Mr. Ortiz represents Social Security Disability claimants nationwide and he has experience handling claims for special sense and speech disorders. Call (888) 321-8131 for a free case evaluation.