The COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our life, and as this video is being recorded about two years after the initial cases appeared in the United States, it continues to have ripple effects.
When it comes to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cases, COVID has turned the in-person hearings many Claimants have come to expect into telephone and video hearings. What it’s time for your Social Security disability hearing, you will be given the choice of waiting for an in-person hearing or proceeding with a telephonic or video hearing from the comfort of your home.
Telephonic Disability Hearings
For a telephonic disability hearing, you will need a quiet space where you can be entirely by yourself and a landline or a cell phone with good reception. You will want to review the paperwork sent to you by Social Security about a month prior to your hearing to ensure that they have the correct telephone number for you.
Video Disability Hearings
For a video disability hearing, you will also need a quiet space where you can be entirely by yourself, but instead of a cellphone or a landline, you will need a computer, laptop or a cell phone that can download and use Microsoft Teams. You will want to review the paperwork sent to you by Social Security about a month prior to your hearing to ensure that they have the correct email address as that is how the invitation is sent. Also, if you’re using a tablet or a cellphone for the hearing, you want to be able to have a place that you can set them down during the hearing so it’s not moving around with you.
The Return to In-Person Hearings
While it is likely that Social Security will resume in-person hearings sometime this year, at least as of the recording of this video, these are the two hearing choices right now for SSD and SSI cases. Additionally, a lot of representatives expect that when the in-person hearings resumed, the telephone and video hearings will continue to remain options.
May 2022 Update: in-person hearings have started to resume around the United States, but wait times for an in-person hearing may remain high.
