Eligibility for disability due to Meniere’s disease is possible if the symptoms are severe enough to impact your ability to do work related activities. According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Ménière’s disease describes a set of episodic symptoms including vertigo (attacks of a spinning sensation), hearing loss, tinnitus (a roaring, buzzing, or ringing sound in the ear), and a sensation of fullness in the affected ear. Episodes typically last from 20 minutes up to 4 hours.  As the symptoms can affect all types of work, even sedentary work, Social Security Administration (SSA) lists Meniere’s Disease as a listing to qualify for benefits.  Listing 2.07 applies to Meniere’s Disease:

2.07      Disturbance of labyrinthine-vestibular function (Including Ménière’s disease), characterized by a history of frequent attacks of balance disturbance, tinnitus, and progressive loss of hearing.  With both A and B:

A.  Disturbed function of vestibular labyrinth demonstrated by caloric or other vestibular tests; and

B.  Hearing loss established by audiometry.

If you do not meet or equal the above listing, you can still qualify for disability benefits if you are not performing substantial gainful activity and if the impairment prevents you from doing your past relevant work or other work that exists in significant numbers in the national economy.