Disability Support Pension if you're deaf or have severe hearing loss - Disability Support Pension

How to meet the general medical rules

To meet the DSP general medical rules if you’re deaf or have severe hearing loss, the medical evidence must show that both:

the diagnosis has been made by a qualified medical practitioner
additional evidence from an audiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, or an ear, nose and throat specialist supports the diagnosis.

A permanent and severe hearing loss can include where there is severe or extreme functional impact on your hearing or other functions of the ear. Examples of this functional impact can include if you:

have severe difficulty hearing any conversation even if it’s at a raised volume in a room with no background noise
have severe difficulty hearing sounds needed for personal or workplace safety such as an alarm or siren
are completely reliant in all situations on sign language such as Auslan or have difficulty recognising sign language
have continual difficulty with balance, such as having continual dizziness
have continual ringing in the ears that interferes with hearing due to a medically diagnosed disorder of the inner ear such as Meniere’s disease.

You’ll also need to meet the non-medical rules such as age and residency.

If you want to claim DSP, you’ll need to submit a claim and give us medical evidence.

If you’re getting DSP because you’re deaf or have severe hearing loss, you must also meet the income and asset test.

Claim Age Pension if you’re eligible

If you’re Age Pension age and deaf or have severe hearing loss, you should check Age Pension for eligibility information.

Find out about DSP rules in our DSP guide

You can use our DSP pre-claim guide to help you decide whether to claim DSP. It won’t tell you if you’ll get DSP.

Ask someone to act for you

You can ask someone to act for you with Medicare, Centrelink, aged care or Child Support. You can authorise them to speak to us, update your details and get payments for you.

Get extra help when calling us

We can help you if you’re deaf, have hearing loss or need to talk to someone in your language. Read more about extra help when calling us.

Find other help

You can get help from National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) if you’re claiming or getting DSP. Read more about the NDIS on their website.

You may also be eligible for help from the Hearing Services Program or Hearing Australia.

Get a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)

If you get DSP because you’re deaf or have a hearing condition, you will get a PCC. Read about the benefits of a PCC.

Work while getting DSP

If you’re working, you must tell us the hours you work and report your employment income each fortnight.

If you have a partner getting their own payment, they may need to tell us this information when they report. Read more about working while getting DSP.

DSP if you’re deaf or have severe hearing loss

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