Hi, my name is Andywheels56!

Andywheels56

Yes Janer , they are all in my kitchen, as well as my perching stool. I've got grab rails going up the stair's and their is something to get me socks on and off in the bedroom.

poppy, what if I only talk to people I actually know. What if I need prompting from a family member/friend. Does that cross the threshold between Activities 7 and 9.


Unfortunately my quest for further advice has fallen on deaf ears. The local CAB is only doing appointments for peeps who have had their benefits cut or stopped, and their website is only giving general advice, although I must admit it is very good. Same thing for the local council welfare service. None are doing face to face consultations. 

Andywheels56

As regards Activity 7 - who do they mean when they say "communication support"

Andywheels56

Ah double post. Already been answered by poppy.

poppy123456

In your first post you said you have Tinnitus, is that correct? Then further on in the thread you mention aids around your home so now i'm confused, May i ask why you need the aids? Were they recommended by an Occuptional Therapist or did you buy them yourself?

Why do you need prompting to communicate with others?

Andywheels56

It was just a bit of blue sky thinking, that's all. Yes, I have tinnitus. It affects my daily living in ways that I could never have imagined. Having read the thread back again I realise that instead of trying to fit the descriptor to the tinnitus it should be the other way around. It should be how my tinnitus impacts me, and see if it is relevant to any of the descriptors.

You are right poppy, why do I need prompting. I probably don't but I am by nature a quiet shy bloke, and having tinnitus just makes it more awkward. You have a feeling something is wrong with you i.e. you have a decease or something but the medical people tell you there isn't anything physically wrong, it's all phsychological, it's all in your head. No wonder I'm going bl***y stir crazy.

poppy123456

Oh i see. You can't make the descriptors fit you, that's not going to work. There are disabled people out there that don't qualify for PIP but it doesn't mean they aren't classed as disabled.

For PIP you need to be affected at least 50% of the time over a 12 month period. There's very little point in taking it to Tribunal if you don't fit those descriptors because it will be a waste of time.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Andywheels56.
To have your daily life impacted so significantly but not in a way that appears to neatly fit within the criteria of the PIP descriptors must be especially frustrating. Unfortunately as Poppy has said, many people whose daily lives are heavily impacted don't necessarily fit the descriptors.
I know you're struggling to find advice and while Scope don't offer face-to-face guidance, our Helpline team would be happy to discuss this all further with you. 

You can contact Helpline on:

Phone: 0808 800 3333.

Textphone: dial 18001 then 0808 800 3333.

Calls are free from UK landlines and mobiles.

Email: helpline@scope.org.uk.

They're open Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm. Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm.

Andywheels56

Think also that there might be some mental health issues which I haven't properly addressed. The 2 employers I have had in my forty years of working life recognised this. Was referred to physchologist's for talking therapy but found it to damned hard. I was in bits and just couldn't cope with talking about the way I was feeling. Begining of this year I referred myself to  counselling run by local hospital trust, and when they rang to arrange an appointment I convinced myself that I was alright and I didn't need them. Just had to get this off my chest after chatting to the friendly girl from scope helpline.


Thanks for listening Georgia.

Tori_Scope

I'm really glad you called the helpline, and that you found them helpful @Andywheels56 They're a great team!

Talking therapy can be really hard, so you're more than welcome to get this off of your chest. Do you think if you were to access some counselling again that you'd be able to give it another go? It's totally fine to go in and say that you find things hard to talk about, and that they might need to help you through that process. That's what they're there for  

Andywheels56

Just reading pipinfo and going through some of the case law there is. Would I be able to use the argument of not being able to use hearing aid due to a sensitivity to the high pitched sounds amplified by hearing aid.

poppy123456

As you only use 1 hearing aid, unfortunately, this doesn't count.

Andywheels56

What about the mild hearing loss in my right ear I have been diagnosed with. Would that alter your view or should I just give up on it as a hopeless case.

poppy123456

I would say no. Sometimes people just don't qualify because you can't make the descriptors fit you.

Andywheels56

Yanni, I cannot thank you enough my friend. In your opening paragraph you have just described my symptoms perfectly i.e. high frequency loss. It may take me a while to read and fully absorb all the points you have made but you have given me renewed hope in my quest for PIP. 

Just as an aside, and I know this isn't the correct thread, but could the same arguments be used for ESA. Applied in Jan, got accepted and just waiting for my work capability assessment which should be soon. Phoned the health advisory service yesterday and they said I was still on the list and it wouldn't be long now.

poppy123456

The work capability ass3essment is totally different to PIP, with different criteria. See descriptors for both groups here.

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1354-work-related-activity-group-descriptors

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors

For NsESA you need to be placed into the Support Group, otherwise payments stop after 365 days.

Andywheels56

Mike, I appreciate your openness and honesty, so I will share mine as regards the talking therapy. I have always been afflicted by what you might term as depression, never really felt good about myself, no self confidence whatsoever. You might not think so reading my threads but anybody can hide behind a keyboard. I have never been formally diagnosed by a doctor with it but have been prescribed various tablets through the years for it. My last employer recognised I had a problem as I kept having time of work. They paid for 6 meetings with a lady shrink through a company they use in warrington. I only went to 2 as I was in bits, I was a real mess and I couldn't carry on with the meetings. I convinced my company that I was fine and everything was alright but in reality it really wasn't.


After I had been diagnosed with hearing loss and tinnitus I had a meeting with the senior nurse at the hospital. Prior to the meeting I had to fill in a questionnaire about the way I was feeling and how it had affected me. The senior nurse read my answers and said she wanted me to keep me in as they were concerned about my welfare. Again I convinced them otherwise and we talked about a plan of action going forward and we would review it at regular intervals. Christmas didn't go to well(it never does) so in january I referred myself to the primary care psychological therapy service run by our local hospital. The senior nurse had given me their details. In march they contacted me by phone to set up a meeting and yep, you guessed it, I chickened out again. I guess I am not destined to ever face up to talking about my demons.

poppy123456

Advice has been given based on the information that was given.

Even before a claim for PIP was started advice was given that 2 points would be possible and this was from an advice agency, although a score of zero was given once the decision was made, this still isn't enough for an award. If Andywheel had given all the information to the person from the advice agency about how their conditions affect them then i can't see how 8 points will be possible here.

I have no idea where the aids come into it here because that seemed to be very random. When i asked if aids were bought by them or recommended by an OT i got the reply that "it was just blue sky thinking" so i took that as aids are not needed.

For hearing aids i do believe it's 2, not just the one.

chiarieds

Hi @yanni - & I appreciate you're trying to help with the knowledge you have of your own disorder, & also @Andywheels56 - From what the original poster has said, unfortunately it seems unlikely he would gain a PIP award, & reasons have been given.

As far as other aids mentioned, such as a perching stool, their use may result in gaining points, but their justifiable use could mean you might lose points, as their theoretical use could mean you could do an activity/descriptor using them. As the OP hasn't clearly mentioned why he got such an aid, we're left with just looking at his tinnitus, & him trying to get the descriptors fitting his needs, rather than his needs fitting the PIP descriptors. Altho tinnitus may impact his daily life, unfortunately, as mentioned, this will unlikely get him an award of PIP.

Andywheels56

Hi chiarieds, the advice I have been given by @yanni is excellent. He has described my condition perfectly. On my report from the hospital the consultant ENT specialist wrote " for a long time now he has had troublesome right sided high pitched tinnitus in the mixed hearing loss in his right ear" . The results from my audiogram show that between 2000 and 8000 my hearing drops to 55..


As for the other aids I have mentioned, that was just a bit of blue sky thinking on my part. I don't actually use any of those. However, just reading some of @yanni's other threads has set me thinking. The flashing strobe lights to alert me if anybody is at the door is a good one. 

Andywheels56

I have just re-read the atos healthcare consultation.  In the history of conditions section they have put nil next to the investigations and hospital admissions for both the mild hearing loss in my right ear and the Tinnitus. They have however acknowledged that I was diagnosed with depression/anxiety (forgot I had put that down on the form) and that I had made my GP aware of my suicidal thoughts. As I have documentation from the hospital that I was under the specialists care should this be the start of where I focus my appeal and then give real world examples under the descriptors that I think apply to me. All advice greatly appreciated.