Hearing Listing To Be Revised?
September 30, 2011
Author: Louise M. Tarantino| Catherine M. Callery (Kate)
The Social Security Administration is soliciting comments on the medical criteria used to determine when hearing loss is disabling. Although no new regulations have been proposed, SSA is apparently considering changes as part of its “ongoing effort to ensure that our criteria are effective and reflect the latest advances in medicine.” In particular, SSA has posed the following questions:
- Are the criteria consistent with recent advances in medical knowledge, treatment, or methods of evaluating hearing loss?
- Are there any problems that you see with the present medical criteria? For instance, are the criteria difficult to understand? Are they appropriate for the impairment?
- Do the criteria require tests that are not available in some areas of the country? Are any of the required tests outdated?
- What revisions would you suggest for making the criteria more accurate or relevant?
- What are the specific reasons that the revisions are necessary?
- How could we make the changes?
- What results and benefits do you anticipate from the proposed revisions?
Please send your recommendations by e-mail to Listings.Comments@ssa.gov, by telefax to (410) 966-3372, or by letter to Director, Office of Medical Listing Improvement (OMLI), Social Security Administration, 4420 Annex Bldg., 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. Please share this letter with your colleagues, associates, and others, who also may want to comment. You can contact Tiya Marshall at tiya.marshall@ssa.gov or Joanna Firmin at joanna.firmin@ssa.gov if you have any questions.
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