Has Anyone Gotten on Disability?

[LostInNorcal]

Just curious if anyone has gotten on it from tinnitus. Sometimes I just wonder how much longer I'll be able to work with this crap. I've had tinnitus for 7 years and I have good days but my bad days are just so hard I don't know if I can keep doing it.

 

[stacey]

I did after filing an appeal the 3rd time..... it was not easy at all. They will only give it to you if you have tinnitus and hearing loss. And even with both they still give you a hard time. But you should definitely give it a try. I hope you get it.

 

[JasonP]

I have had deep bouts of depression in the past 3 years about tinnitus but I suffered from depression before. I guess if you have very strong depression you could get it if you get a good attorney. I hear that tinnitus is the number 1 disability for veterans.

 

[zombiechick]

I've heard a lot of military does due to this monster. Honestly, I'm not surprised. The HR at my work acted like I was being ridiculous about my T and when I explained to her how this can be extremely debilitating, she was shocked. I can't understand how some people can't see how this would be hard to live with. If this doesn't get better after I have the baby, I was going to look into it.

 

[JasonP]

I've heard a lot of military does due to this monster. Honestly, I'm not surprised. The HR at my work acted like I was being ridiculous about my T and when I explained to her how this can be extremely debilitating, she was shocked. I can't understand how some people can't see how this would be hard to live with. If this doesn't get better after I have the baby, I was going to look into it.

Hey I saw your tinnitus was caused by medication. Would you mind telling me which medication it was? I believe mine was due to an SSRI.

 

[Foncky]

How is disability useful in the US ?

In my country, you get next to nothing for hearing loss and tinnitus. Hyperacusis does not even exist in the forms.

 

[Alue]

How is disability useful in the US ?

In my country, you get next to nothing for hearing loss and tinnitus. Hyperacusis does not even exist in the forms.

It's only useful if you were in the military, disability for vets is tax free and they are free to work, how much they earn while on disability had no effect.

For civilians it's about the same as you described.

 

[NineNails]

I can't understand how some people can't see how this would be hard to live with

The humankind is selfish and profoundly self-righteous. Everybody knows it better while they actually no nothing.

They don't walk in other's shoes but they love to assume and to project their own perception no matter how limited it may be.

In many countries T does not exist as a medical disability. Thus you'd have to go to a psychiatrist and get a different diagnosis like depression or whatnot. Anything but T. It's utterly ridiculous!

 

[squeek]

I don't understand how tinnitus is a credible disability for veterans but for the rest of us it's treated as non-serious.

It's discrimination and it needs to change.

 

[Alue]

I did after filing an appeal the 3rd time..... it was not easy at all. They will only give it to you if you have tinnitus and hearing loss. And even with both they still give you a hard time. But you should definitely give it a try. I hope you get it.

I don't understand why people have to have hearing loss in addition to tinnitus for it to be seen as a disability. It's not even considered a scheduled injury for workers unless it's accompanied by hearing loss. It's treated as a non issue.

 

[RB2014]

I don't understand why people have to have hearing loss in addition to tinnitus for it to be seen as a disability. It's not even considered a scheduled injury for workers unless it's accompanied by hearing loss. It's treated as a non issue.

Tinnitus is a lot easier to deal with when you have good hearing. Once you finally get better and the T is a distant sound in your head, you can use your hearing to mask it and also listening to the same frequency as your T in most cases brings down its intensity. When your hearing is shot, you are not able to do this. Its a pretty huge difference.

Running around all day and listening to nothing but T or T plus sounds from your everyday environment. Its a pretty easy choice.

 

[Alue]

Tinnitus is a lot easier to deal with when you have good hearing. Once you finally get better and the T is a distant sound in your head, you can use your hearing to mask it and also listening to the same frequency as your T in most cases brings down its intensity. When your hearing is shot, you are not able to do this. Its a pretty huge difference.

Running around all day and listening to nothing but T or T plus sounds from your everyday environment. Its a pretty easy choice.

I don't doubt that hearing loss complicates things. But my T is ultra high pitched and unmaskable (except the shower). I likely have hearing loss in the very high frequencies, but that's hard to prove because there is not baseline or standard.

With hearing loss can't you sometimes get hearing aids that amplify the frequencies around your T?

Another thing that can be debilitating for people is hyperacusis, but that too is not even recognized.

 

[RB2014]

I don't doubt that hearing loss complicates things. But my T is ultra high pitched and unmaskable (except the shower). I likely have hearing loss in the very high frequencies, but that's hard to prove because there is not baseline or standard.

With hearing loss can't you sometimes get hearing aids that amplify the frequencies around your T?

Another thing that can be debilitating for people is hyperacusis, but that too is not even recognized.

You can get hearing aides that amplify the frequencies of your T and it helps, but having hearing loss is no picnic at all. Just talking to people can be stressful and can add to anxiety which makes T worst. Hearing aides don't work like glasses where you put them on and its like magic. You still have to work really hard to figure out what people are saying and you spend most of your day trying to figure out what people are saying to you and not trying to solve the problems that you are supposed to solve. Its really draining.

You can do the same as what a hearing aide would do by playing the frequencies that your T is at during the day and see if it has any effect. Try water sounds for hours on end that mask your T. If you can do this for long enough, you might be able to habituate.

Either way though I can't stress enough that there is no replacement for natural sound.

I have frequency loss in every frequency, mostly on the high side. You can have a whole symphony playing in your head.

If you can't get rid of the T at the end of the day you have to accept the high pitch sound as your new baseline as silence. Once you learn to accept the sound is when you will learn to ignore it, and once you ignore it you hear it less and less, and the less you hear it the quieter it gets.

At the end of the day you can still beat this thing and have great hearing on top of it.

 

[Alue]

You can get hearing aides that amplify the frequencies of your T and it helps, but having hearing loss is no picnic at all. Just talking to people can be stressful and can add to anxiety which makes T worst. Hearing aides don't work like glasses where you put them on and its like magic. You still have to work really hard to figure out what people are saying and you spend most of your day trying to figure out what people are saying to you and not trying to solve the problems that you are supposed to solve. Its really draining.

You can do the same as what a hearing aide would do by playing the frequencies that your T is at during the day and see if it has any effect. Try water sounds for hours on end that mask your T. If you can do this for long enough, you might be able to habituate.

Either way though I can't stress enough that there is no replacement for natural sound.

I have frequency loss in every frequency, mostly on the high side. You can have a whole symphony playing in your head.

If you can't get rid of the T at the end of the day you have to accept the high pitch sound as your new baseline as silence.

I see, I don't mean to downplay hearing loss, especially if it's severe or accompanied by tinnitus. I'm fairly convinced that most people with tinnitus have "hidden hearing loss". There is strong evidence for this. You can have significant damage to your auditory system and it not show up on a normal audiogram.
I believe you, nothing replaces natural sound.

Listening to masking music does nothing for me, not white noise, not brown noise, not water sound or circkets, the T just pierces through or tries to compete with the masking sound. Maybe if it was uncomfortably loud like 90db, but that would make things worse at the end of the day for sure. I honestly don't know what it is about the shower that masks it.

You can do the same as what a hearing aide would do by playing the frequencies that your T is at during the day and see if it has any effect. Try water sounds for hours on end that mask your T. If you can do this for long enough, you might be able to habituate.

Either way though I can't stress enough that there is no replacement for natural sound.

I have frequency loss in every frequency, mostly on the high side. You can have a whole symphony playing in your head.

If you can't get rid of the T at the end of the day you have to accept the high pitch sound as your new baseline as silence.

Is there any data that shows masking facilitates habituation? If it was something that I could only hear in quiet places I think I would have habituated already, or at least been on the path towards habituation. To me it's like chronic pain, and accepting that pain as your new normal. Doesn't make things much better.

 

[RB2014]

Alue, Looking at your signature you have only had this 4 months. Believe me after one and a half years with no choice but to listen to it you will either go insane or you will accept this as your new normal. Most people just accept it as their new normal. I learned that once I accepted it, the volume dropped and I can forget about it for portions of my day. The less I think about it the quieter it gets and it is a cumulative effect.

I'm not sure of any data that shows masking facilities habituation, but it sure feels good. Maybe Try a shower sound for an hour on a cell phone and then rest and see if it goes away for any period of time afterward. The problem with T is once you have it you keep looking for it and you find it each time. Ideally if we could be re-programmed to forget it, it would go away, but thats not possible.

In my first 6 months I saw it as a chronic pain also. I didnt know how anyone could live like this. All I can say is that it does get better over time as long as you learn to accept it and not let anxiety take over and make it louder.

Yeah listening at 90db is no good. Maybe try matching the frequency at 3o db or so and see if it has any effect.

 

[Alue]

Alue, Looking at your signature you have only had this 4 months. Believe me after one and a half years with no choice but to listen to it you will either go insane or you will accept this as your new normal. Most people just accept it as their new normal. I learned that once I accepted it, the volume dropped and I can forget about it for portions of my day. The less I think about it the quieter it gets and it is a cumulative effect.

That's what people told me about 3 months. Does noise exposure make yours louder?

I'm not sure of any data that shows masking facilities habituation, but it sure feels good. Maybe Try a shower sound for an hour on a cell phone and then rest and see if it goes away for any period of time afterward. The problem with T is once you have it you keep looking for it and you find it each time. Ideally if we could be re-programmed to forget it, it would go away, but thats not possible.

Yeah listening at 90db is no good. Maybe try matching the frequency at 3o db or so and see if it has any effect.

Residual inhibition does not work on me at all. There has not been 1 minute in a quiet to normal volume place where I could not hear my T.
The frequency is too high to match too. It's not exactly a single tone either, it's more of a broadband of ultra high frequencies.

 

[RB2014]

Regular noise does not make it louder, but loud noise does make it louder. At this point though I stay away from anything that is even close to loud noise.

I don't think I was good until month 6 or 7, but everyone is different. Anxiety will keep it loud for longer which makes it worst.

 

[Wenno]

I'm about to apply for Disability Support. The many tests and doctors'/specialists' reports are in full swing now.
I retired late last year because I just couldn't reliably face up to work. For nearly a year I've suffered from low frequency hearing loss in my left ear along with Tinnitus, Hyperacusis and Diplacusis. The other ear has pulsatile Tinnitus but it's not there all the time. The sudden left sided hearing loss is gradually worsening (as the Tinnitus has 'settled' in). Depression and dizziness has accompanied all this, and I will fight tooth and nail to be considered fairly with regard to my application. I understand that avoiding stress is an essential component of coping with my condition. No way is my work-place (as a teacher) helpful to my cause.

 

[Tinniger]

An important subject about which far too little has been said.

 

[Ken219]

I'm about to apply for Disability Support. The many tests and doctors'/specialists' reports are in full swing now.
I retired late last year because I just couldn't reliably face up to work. For nearly a year I've suffered from low frequency hearing loss in my left ear along with Tinnitus, Hyperacusis and Diplacusis. The other ear has pulsatile Tinnitus but it's not there all the time. The sudden left sided hearing loss is gradually worsening (as the Tinnitus has 'settled' in). Depression and dizziness has accompanied all this, and I will fight tooth and nail to be considered fairly with regard to my application. I understand that avoiding stress is an essential component of coping with my condition. No way is my work-place (as a teacher) helpful to my cause.

The disability is usually classified to chronic depression.

 

[sirhand]

Tinnitus sucks. But nothing sucks so much that they deserve "free money" that's actually just stolen from others.

 

[Contrast]

Tinnitus sucks. But nothing sucks so much that they deserve "free money" that's actually just stolen from others.

I already can tell by your post on what political views you subscribe too being a former libertarian myself.

Libertarianism defined as unregulated free markets only works effective in developing nations. This is because there are many economic niches waiting to be filled in by workers. Developing nations have lots of needs like building infrastructure, farming for food, managing clean water all from scratch. In that scenario libertarianism does bring one from rags to riches.

The problem is this, a developing nation will eventually become stable in no need of rapid growth, virtually all economic niches become filled and have no need for new employee's. Everything is patented, owned, trademarked. Every boss has a boss above them tracing back to a mega corporation CEO, Every piece of land is owned. It's not the same 19th-early 20th century capitalism

 

[Emperor-Drax]

Tinnitus sucks. But nothing sucks so much that they deserve "free money" that's actually just stolen from others.

Great, so they can just starve to death instead. So compassionate!

 

[Bill Bauer]

So compassionate!

Who said compassion is a virtue? The pope/some clown? The author of Harry Potter?

If anyone doesn't like that this person is starving, they can give money to the starving person, or to a charity that will feed that person. Under such a system, the growth will be faster and, in the long run, the fewest people will end up starving.

 

[Bill Bauer]

a developing nation will eventually become stable in no need of rapid growth, virtually all economic niches become filled and have no need for new employee's.

What you are talking about is wages that are too high as a result of minimum wage laws, or as a result of union activity. In that case, indeed, those higher wages are paid for by the suffering of the people who will be left without a job (and the taxpayers supporting those people). If the wages were to come down, the number of vacancies would increase.

Every piece of land is owned.

The reason there is no shortage of cows and the cows will never go extinct is that every cow is owned by someone. The reason that there is overfishing going on that puts some species of fish at risk is that fish is not owned. The fact that all land has an owner is a good thing that ensures that the land will be used efficiently and will contribute the most it can possibly contribute to society.

 

[Emperor-Drax]

Who said compassion is a virtue? The pope/some clown? The author of Harry Potter?

If anyone doesn't like that this person is starving, they can give money to the starving person, or to a charity that will feed that person. Under such a system, the growth will be faster and, in the long run, the fewest people will end up starving.

No thanks. I'd be happy to pay higher taxes to ensure the poor and disabled are fed, housed and clothed, and importantly they have a chance at living. Charities (and I for that matter!) lack the complex resources required to distribute funds to consistently supply welfare needs to the disadvantaged.

 

[Eric N]

I am trying this now, I was able to get 15 weeks on Governmental Employment insurance but they don't ask much questions, now I am trying to get long term disability with my work insurance, I already sent all the forms which my doctor has filled out, fingers crossed

 

[lymebite]

For anyone in America potentially eligible for disability under Social Security, the particular disease in question is not much relevant - be it tinnitus, diabetes, cancer, or something else - what matters is the assessment by the patient's doctors and by the Social Security Administration (SSA) as to whether the symptoms are sufficiently debilitating that it is not possible to perform work at any job in the economy.

How SSA makes the determination is complex, and there are some very good Facebook groups for explaining how it works and giving advice. One such good group is called "SSDI - SSI Disability Support Group."

Tinnitus has the challenge that it is invisible and there is no objective diagnostic test for it, but even for patients with visible conditions with clear diagnostics, the process is complicated and focuses on if the symptoms of a particular patient prevents them from working at any job.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I'd be happy to pay higher taxes to ensure the poor and disabled are fed, housed and clothed, and importantly they have a chance at living.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions (and a lot of "virtue" signaling). You are increasing suffering in the long run. As the number of jobs administering tax money grows, there's less tax money due to all the taxes and regulations depressing the economy.

 

[Emperor-Drax]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions (and a lot of "virtue" signaling). You are increasing suffering in the long run. As the number of jobs administering tax money grows, there's less tax money due to all the taxes and regulations depressing the economy.

Dude you're talking to a former libertarian here who used to think it was fun romanticising the rugged individual stereotype until I learned that "personal responsibility" is great and all, until you just can't do it anymore.

Conservatives and libertarians revel in perpetuating their pet myth that everything will sort itself out if the welfare state is eradicated, social safety nets are gutted, and private charity will handle the rest. But that ignores the cruel reality that private charities are at the mercy of their donors, whereas a robust welfare state infrastructure is more capable of distributing benefits to recipients from a steady flow of funds from the Treasury - yes, I know "but muh tax dahlahs!" Personally I couldn't give a toss about where a marginal percentage of my income goes, as long as the government is ensuring the needy benefit from it.

And it's going to get a lot more difficult anyway as the labour market faces the future of automation, which will essentially annihilate entire workforces, leading to an inevitable increase in demand for welfare aid. One arguement to curb this 21st century problem is a "universal basic income" for all, which would be funded from profits made from robot labour, and since it wouldn't be means tested, much of the welfare state bureaucracy would be purged. It's a hard sell, especially when conservatives hear that and automatically go "nah kommunism!", but it's life or death really.