Macular Degeneration (Eye Disorder) Disability Insurance Benefits Claim
How can disability insurance attorneys Dell & Schaefer assist you?
As disability attorneys, Dell & Schaefer have represented long term disability claimants that have been unable to work as a result of macular degeneration. Disability Attorneys Dell & Schaefer have an expansive understanding of the significant restrictions and limitations that a person suffering with macular degeneration must live with on a daily basis. We have worked closely with top physicians in order to sufficiently satisfy a disability carrier’s threshold of evidence necessary to prove that a client is disabled by suffering from macular degeneration.
Not everyone suffering from macular degeneration qualifies for long-term disability benefits, therefore the medical records of each client must be reviewed to determine the level of restrictions. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your long-term disability claim.
You can contact us for a free initial consultation.
What is macular degeneration?
Macular degeneration is a chronic eye disease marked by deterioration of tissue in the part of your eye that’s responsible for central vision (the macula).
Dry macular degeneration, in which tissue deterioration is not accompanied by bleeding, is the most common form of the disease. Dry macular degeneration usually develops gradually and painlessly. A person may begin to notice the need for increasingly bright light when reading, they may have difficulty adapting to low light levels, printed words may increasingly appear blurry, colors may appear dull, and they may suffer from a general haziness of their overall vision.
Dry macular degeneration also causes a blurred or blind spot in the center of a person’s visual field combined with a profound drop in the sharpness of central vision. This leads to an inability to recognize people’s faces.
Vision may falter in one eye while the other eye remains fine for years. You may not notice any or much change because your good eye compensates for the weak one. However, your vision and lifestyle begin to be dramatically affected when this condition develops in both eyes.
Additionally, some people with macular degeneration may experience visual hallucinations as their vision loss becomes more severe. These hallucinations may include unusual patterns, geometric figures, animals or even faces. The name for this event is Charles Bonnet syndrome.
How the symptoms of macular degeneration can affect you
Macular degeneration doesn’t cause total blindness, but impaired vision worsens a person’s quality of life by blurring or causing a blind spot in your central vision. Clear central vision is necessary for a host of daily activities including reading, driving, recognizing faces and doing detail orientated work.
While there are several contributing factors for developing macular degeneration the most common cause is a person’s age. In the United States, macular degeneration is the leading cause of severe vision loss in people age 60 and older. There are other contributing factors including:
- Gender, women are far more likely than men to develop the disease then men.
- Smoking, researchers have found that smoking cigarettes doubles a person’s risk of macular degeneration.
- Obesity, being severely overweight increases the chance that early or intermediate macular degeneration will develop.
- Eye color, people with light colored eyes appear to be at greater risk than those with darker colored eyes.
- Low levels of nutrients, people who have low blood levels of minerals, such as zinc, and of antioxidant vitamins, such as A, C and E are more likely to develop macular degeneration. Researchers believe a lack of antioxidants (which may protect your cells from oxygen damage, oxidation), is partially responsible for the effects of aging and for the development of certain diseases such as macular degeneration.
- Cardiovascular disease, people who suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina) are also more likely to develop the disease than those who do not suffer from cardiovascular disease.
Treatments for macular degeneration may include supplements such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, zinc and copper. Laser surgery is used to destroy abnormal blood vessels in the eye. Photodynamic therapy is used to destroy leaking blood vessels, while medications such as anti-angiogenesis and anti-VEGF are used to slow the formation of new blood vessels. Vision aids, such as special lenses are also used to allow a person to utilize the vision they do have remaining more effectively.
Resources
There are many valuable sources of macular degeneration information available. You can also access resources over the internet such as American Health Assistance Foundation
There are numerous charities dedicated to macular degeneration research, detection and treatment including American Macular Degeneration Foundation
Not everyone suffering from macular degeneration qualifies for long-term disability benefits, therefore the medical records of each client must be reviewed to determine the level of restrictions. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your long-term disability claim.
You can contact us for a free initial consultation.
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