Pip and poor hearing.

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justaquestion
justaquestion Posts: 737 Forumite
in Benefits & tax credits
Hi folks,

If someone has such bad hearing that they can't hear anything without two hearing aids and even with aids they still have difficulty hearing what are their chances to get any level of pip?

At night time this person can't hear anything at all as hearing aids have to be left out, to allow ears to rest, and in case of any emergency such as fire would not realise this.

I have looked through how the points are awarded for pip and can't see any mention of this problem.


Thanks for any information.
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  • w06
    w06 Posts: 917 Forumite
    edited 12 April 2018 at 12:50PM
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    PIP is about how the problem affects you rather than a diagnosis or specific impairment, it's descriptor 7 that applies:

    7. Communicating verbally

    a. Can express and understand verbal information unaided. 0 points

    b. Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to speak or hear. 2 points

    c. Needs communication support to be able to express or understand complex verbal information. 4 points

    d. Needs communication support to be able to express or understand basic verbal information. 8 points

    e. Cannot express or understand verbal information at all even with communication support. 12 points
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 17,950 Forumite
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    justaquestion wrote: »
    Hi folks,

    If someone has such bad hearing that they can't hear anything without two hearing aids and even with aids they still have difficulty hearing what are their chances to get any level of pip?

    At night time this person can't hear anything at all as hearing aids have to be left out, to allow ears to rest, and in case of any emergency such as fire would not realise this.

    I have looked through how the points are awarded for pip and can't see any mention of this problem.


    Thanks for any information.
    There are lots of PIP descriptors and points are awarded based on how a condition affects you. PIP descriptor 7 communicating verbally could score a person 2 points for using hearing aids. Unless the person has any other difficulties, then this won't be enough for a PIP award.
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
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    justaquestion wrote: »
    ...
    At night time this person can't hear anything at all as hearing aids have to be left out, to allow ears to rest, and in case of any emergency such as fire would not realise this.

    You can get fire alarms for the deaf.
    justaquestion wrote: »
    ...
    I have looked through how the points are awarded for pip and can't see any mention of this problem.

    I suspect that even being completely deaf would not get you much in the way of PIP points. But then I have no experience.

    Google 'PIP for the deaf'.It seems to be a challenge.
  • Danday
    Danday Posts: 436 Forumite
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    I too was prescribed hearing aids for both ears by the audiology dept at the hospital.
    They are good but do in fact pick up too much background noise as well.
    When assessed by ATOS twice they wanted to see that they were present.
    Subsequently I have never been able to get more than 2 points under any descriptor other than for having them.
  • Christian73
    Christian73 Posts: 3 Newbie
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    I too was prescribed hearing
  • Tom99
    Tom99 Posts: 5,371 Forumite
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    [FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]It was possible to get DLA being deaf but harder with PIP because the criteria are different.[/FONT]
  • antrobus
    antrobus Posts: 17,386 Forumite
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    bspm1 wrote: »
    Possibly may qualify for higher points in this section?

    Communication support "means support from a person trained or experienced in communicating with people with specific communication needs, including interpreting verbal information into a non-verbal form and vice versa"

    https://pipinfo.net/activities/communicating-verbally

    Simply needing a hearing aid would be an aid or appliance that gets you 2 points.

    That's the issue with PIP. It's very specific.
  • bspm1
    bspm1 Posts: 332 Forumite
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    antrobus wrote: »
    Communication support "means support from a person trained or experienced in communicating with people with specific communication needs, including interpreting verbal information into a non-verbal form and vice versa"

    https://pipinfo.net/activities/communicating-verbally

    Simply needing a hearing aid would be an aid or appliance that gets you 2 points.

    That's the issue with PIP. It's very specific.

    Thank you for pointing this out. I have deleted accordingly.
    :)
  • w06
    w06 Posts: 917 Forumite
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    It is possible to score higher than 2 points for hearing loss on PIP, I scored 8 on descriptor 7, but I have no hearing and rely solely on lip reading
  • pmlindyloo
    pmlindyloo Posts: 13,049 Forumite
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    w06 wrote: »
    It is possible to score higher than 2 points for hearing loss on PIP, I scored 8 on descriptor 7, but I have no hearing and rely solely on lip reading

    Yes I agree it is possible to score higher than 2 points.

    This guide gives information about descriptor 7

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/665635/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-assessment-criteria.pdf

    Note the reference to lip reading in the preamble to the descriptor and point scoring.

    The OP does not say how her husband interprets verbal communication.
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