Special Senses and Speech and Social Security Disability
Vision, hearing, and speech disorders that can limit communication or safe performance of work.
Adult Listing 2.00 covers special senses and speech, including statutory blindness criteria, hearing loss with and without hearing aids, and loss of speech. These listings are technical. Visual-acuity, visual-field, and audiometric results generally have to match the listing’s measurement standards.
Browse the hearing and vision guides below, or return to the Disability Conditions Center.
Official SSA resource: Listing 2.00 — Special Senses and Speech
Special Senses and Speech condition guides
- Hearing Loss
Hearing loss may qualify for SSDI or SSI when audiometric findings meet Listing 2.10 or 2.11, or when communication limits prevent sustained work. A hearing-aid prescription is not an approval.
- Vision Impairment
SSA evaluates visual disorders under Listings 2.02, 2.03, and 2.04. Statutory blindness has a specific legal definition and is not the same as every listing-level visual disorder.
- Diabetes
Diabetes has no standalone adult listing. SSA evaluates its documented effects on other body systems and the combined functional limits those complications cause.
- Stroke
SSA evaluates stroke as vascular insult to the brain under Listing 11.04 when specified communication, motor, or combined physical and mental limits persist at least three months after the insult.
Speak with a Social Security Disability attorney
Brock & Stout can review a Social Security Disability claim, look for missing medical evidence, and discuss next steps. We do not charge a fee for SSD representation unless we win.
This page is general educational information about Social Security Disability as of the date of this publication. It is not legal or medical advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not guarantee results. Eligibility depends on individual facts and current Social Security rules.
