By Chris Sharry on August 30th, 2024 in Disability, Social Security Disability
Occipital Neuralgia is a condition in which the occipital nerves, the nerves that run through the scalp, are injured or inflamed. This causes headaches that feel like severe piercing, throbbing or shock-like pain in the upper neck, back of the head or behind the ears. People who suffer from Occipital Neuralgia want to know if they qualify for social security disability (SSD).
Symptoms
Symptoms of occipital neuralgia include continuous aching, burning and throbbing, with intermittent shocking or shooting pain that generally starts at the base of the head and goes to the scalp on one or both sides of the head. Patients often have pain behind the eye of the affected side of the head. Additionally, a movement as light as brushing hair may trigger pain. The pain is often described as migraine-like and some patients may also experience symptoms common to migraines and cluster headaches.
Qualifying for Disability with Occipital Neuralgia
To be considered disabled and eligible for disability payments you need to show three things:
- you have a medically determinable impairment,
- your impairment has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months, and
- your impairment is so severe that it prevents you from working.
Other physical conditions can usually be diagnosed using blood tests and X-rays, which makes it easier to prove to Social Security that you have a medically determinable impairment. But trigeminal neuralgia is often “invisible,” making it difficult to prove your diagnosis is legitimate. And there often aren’t tests or laboratory results that can substantiate your complaints of extreme pain.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t qualify for disability benefits based on occipital neuralgia. It’s just more challenging.
If you or a loved one suffers from Occipital Neuralgia and would like to learn how to qualify for social security disability, do not hesitate to contact our attorneys for a free case evaluation. With our law office in Worcester, Massachusetts, we serve social security disability clients throughout Massachusetts including Worcester County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County and Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Chicopee, Fall River, Framingham, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Newton, Quincy, Somerville, Springfield, Waltham, Worcester and more.
