At What Level is Hearing Loss Considered a Disability?

Nowadays, there is some confusion as to when your hearing loss might be considered a disability. The confusion arises because of the many different definitions of being deaf. These definitions come from a medical, legal and cultural perspective. Here you will find the following:

Hearing loss affects millions of people all over the world. And the criteria and scale for meeting the level of being disabled vary by country. However, hearing loss is considered a disability in most countries if it impacts your ability to understand a conversation or learn something new.

What is Hearing Loss?

When you lose your hearing, your brain doesn’t receive specific signals for interpretation. This is the primary type and is known as sensorineural hearing loss. This occurs because of damage to the auditory nerve or the fine hairs that detect vibration inside your ear. However, hearing loss, being hard of hearing or being considered deaf is often used in the same way.

Yet people affected by all levels of hearing loss think of themselves within different groups and categories. There is a wide range of people with hearing loss, some severe and some relatively mild.

Hearing as Disability

Impaired hearing can be considered a disability if it falls into a particular range. The ranges are slightly different by each nation, but mostly the same across the board. Hearing loss is classed as a disability if it affects your daily life in an educational, social or professional way. For example, if your child has hearing loss, they may not be able to follow teachers at school if you can’t understand a conversation.

There are many different classifications, however, and you will need to meet some of them to register disabled from a medical or legal point of view.

Medical Hearing Loss

Medical hearing loss is perhaps the most critical classification because your indicators are the direct result of specific tests performed by a hearing instrument specialist (HIS). This test is known as an audiogram and is designed to measure the severity of hearing loss by measuring your response to specific frequencies and decibels. In the United States, you are considered profoundly deaf if you have lost 40 decibels (dBs) or more of hearing capability as an adult. Or 30dBs as a child. However, this is also dependent on further hearing tests that assess your capabilities.

Hearing Loss in the Eyes of the Law

Hearing loss can impact your life and how you go about everyday activities. It can also negatively impact your ability to work. However, in the eye of the law, you have rights covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) required specific information:

• A hearing level of over 90dBs and 60dBs in the better hearing ear by particular tests.
• A word recognition score of 40% or less in the better hearing ear.
• Tests from a certified and licensed member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
• A physical examination from your general practitioner or primary caregiver.
• All tests must be conducted without the use of any existing hearing aids.

Following your tests, you might be qualified to register as disabled. Employers must make reasonable accommodations to meet your needs. However, for benefits, you must prove your hearing loss is preventing you from keeping or getting jobs you otherwise could.

Being Deaf Vs. Hard of Hearing

The stringent definitions are the grounds for registering as disabled when it comes to hearing. However, you might be hard of hearing or deaf. And in either case, feel differently about your condition. For instance, most deaf people don’t consider themselves disabled. Even though they probably meet the legal and medical definitions of being so. Conversely, people who are hard of hearing might fall just under the required criteria. Yet their condition can impact their lives severely, with no way to get disability benefits or legally required employer accommodations.

What to Do If You Aren’t Sure

Hearing loss can impact your life in a major way. You can experience issues like tinnitus, having difficulty following a conversation, or even putting yourself in danger at work. Any of these can cause physical or mental harm, and it isn’t uncommon for hearing loss to cause depression and anxiety. If you experience hearing loss please give us a call at one of our locations to learn more about Armand’s Hearing Center. Call us today at Bradenton: (941) 357-2054 and Sun City: (813) 990-0335