M茅ni猫re's Disease (also called endolymphatic hydrops) is a serious vestibular disorder that can significantly impact balance and hearing. Individuals with M茅ni猫re's Disease may experience episodic vertigo, balance issues, headaches, dizziness, tinnitus, and hearing loss. The symptoms can be exhausting and disorienting, often resulting in long term disability. Unfortunately, there is no known cure. Here鈥檚 what you need to know before filing your long term disability claim for M茅ni猫re's Disease.
M茅ni猫re's Disease can cause an array of chronic and serious physical symptoms that can result in long term disability. The symptoms of M茅ni猫re's Disease can be extremely limiting and distressing, causing cognitive problems and secondary emotional issues, such as depression and anxiety.
In order to receive disability benefits, you will have to show the insurance company how your symptoms prevent you from working.
Physical symptoms of M茅ni猫re's Disease may vary in severity and fluctuate over time, with some days or weeks being much worse than others. Physical symptoms include:
Secondary emotional symptoms that that may develop due to an M茅ni猫re's Disease include:
The insurance company will conduct a broad review of your medical records to assess your diagnosis. The insurance company will specifically look for the following:
Unfortunately, there is no cure for M茅ni猫re's Disease. However, the insurance company will still want to see that you are receiving appropriate treatment. The insurance company can easily use non-compliance and lack of appropriate care as a reason to deny your claim.
To demonstrate appropriate treatment, your doctors should include appropriate specialists, including an otolaryngologist. Treatment options may include:
Your main doctor will probably refer you for additional testing and consultations with other specialists. Make sure to follow-up with your doctor鈥檚 recommendations. If you don鈥檛, the insurance company may claim deny your claim.
Without question, M茅ni猫re's Disease can be extremely disabling. However, you should never assume that the insurance company will understand how your symptoms impact your job. To increase your chances of approval, you must explain why each of your symptoms prevents you from performing your job duties.
For example, even mild vestibular and balance issues may make it difficult to commute or safely navigate your work environment. Severe vestibular and balance issues may make it difficult to get a file out of desk drawer or getting up from your chair may be unsafe or exacerbate your symptoms. You may not even be able to lift your head or stand up during a vertigo attack.
Hearing loss and tinnitus may make it very difficult to understand people during conversations or while on the phone. Severe hearing loss and tinnitus may even prevent you from effectively communicating with others at work, particularly when working in groups.
Many people also find it difficult to concentrate and focus at work due to fatigue, tinnitus, dizziness, and chronic headaches. You may even find that you are performing work tasks much slower. This can be particularly troublesome if your job requires rapid responses or higher level cognitive functioning.
Explain how your individual symptoms prevent you from performing your job duties by preparing a written narrative for the insurance company. Make sure that your narrative addresses all of your symptoms by listing them separately first. Since the symptoms of M茅ni猫re's Disease tend to be episodic, your narrative should also address the frequency of your symptoms, as well as any factors that trigger or exacerbate your symptoms.
M茅ni猫re's Disease is a serious and complicated medical condition that may result in disability. To file a successful long term disability claim, you must support your claim with sufficient medical evidence and proof of appropriate treatment. Knowing how to substantiate your claim will significantly increase your chances of approval.