blindness and low vision

You may qualify for Social Security Disability benefits or SSI payments if you’re blind or you have low vision. SSA considers you to be blind if your vision can’t be corrected to better than 20/200 in your better eye or if your visual field is 20 degrees or less in your better eye for a period that lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months.

If your vision doesn’t meet Social Security’s definition of blindness, you may still qualify for disability benefits if your vision problems alone, or combined with other health problems, prevent you from working.  As you can imagine, having limited vision poses a huge barrier to employment. There are two general ways you may be found disabled based on legal blindness. The first way is meeting or equaling one of Social Security’s Listings. The second way is to show due to your vision loss you are unable to perform both your past work and also any other type of work in the national economy.

While not as severe as complete blindness, low vision can impact your ability to see to the point that performing tasks such as reading, writing, going to the store, driving, or working can be difficult, if not impossible to do. Signs of low vision include:

-Difficulty recognizing people or faces;

-Problems reading, cooking, watching television, or performing household tasks;

-Problems in choosing appropriate clothing that matches;

-Perceiving it as being dark or as if the lighting is dim, even when it is not;

-Having difficulty reading traffic signals, the names of streets or signs at stores.

For people with low vision, glasses, contacts, medications, and procedures such as Lasik generally do little to improve the condition. In many cases, vision loss gets progressively worse over time. It is important to see a doctor or optometrist at the first sign of any of the above symptoms. If not caught early, it could result in a complete loss of sight.   

Other vision problems can also cause the inability to work. These conditions include the following:

-Cataracts, which is a clouding of the eye lens;

-Glaucoma, which is a disease that causes damage to your optic nerves;

-Macular degeneration, which is often age-related and results in damage to your retina;

-Diabetic retinopathy, which causes retinal damage due to high blood sugar levels.

More often than not, when someone who is legally blind applies for disability benefits they will be found disabled based upon one of Social Security’s Listing’s. SSA’s “Listings” is a list of conditions that have been deemed so severe that if you suffer from them you will automatically be found disabled. It can be difficult to prove you meet or equal one of Social Security’s Listings as the medical evidence required is fairly strict. In terms of legal blindness, you would consider Listing 2.02 for loss of central visual acuity. This listing requires medical evidence documenting that the remaining vision in the better after best correction to be 20/200 or less. Another listing you may consider is listing 2.04 for loss of visual efficiency. This listing requires you to show a visual efficiency percentage of 20 or less after best correction. Or, you could show a visual impairment value of 1.00 or greater after best correction. SSA will consider whichever listing best suites your situation when determining if you are eligible for disability benefits. It is important to remember to make sure you are treating with the correct medical professional for your condition. Generally, an individual suffering from legal blindness will be treating with an ophthalmologist. This is the individual who would have the best evidence to support you meeting one of Social Security’s listings.

Determinations for meeting SSDI requirements are made based on information provided through doctor, hospital, and optometry records, along with any diagnostic testing that may have occurred. In making these assessments, the amount of vision impairment in each individual eye is highly relevant. If it is determined that vision loss mainly affects only one eye, your claim for social security benefits will not be approved based on a vision impairment.

If you need helping applying for Social Security Disability or SSI, please contact me at joshben99@gmail.com. I have over 20 years experience with Social Security Disability cases.