Crohn’s Disease and Hearing Loss

2014/07

Specified Disability: Ulcerative Colitis/Crohn’s Disease and Hearing Loss

Background: The appellant, aged 27 years, is a lone parent with one child and was in receipt of One Parent Family Payment.

Oral hearing: The appellant attended alone. She reported that she had been working in supermarkets and retail outlets but had not worked recently. She said that her hearing is very limited and that she generally needs to lip read. She referred to a recent assessment in her local hospital and advised that she had an appointment to have hearing aids fitted in six weeks. She went on to report that she had been feeling very bad for weeks on end, having had to use the bathroom very frequently and having rectal bleeding. She had attended doctors and the Accident and Emergency departments of her local hospital and a hospital in Dublin, where she visited family, and had been sent home with painkillers. During a visit to Dublin in 2013, she had collapsed and was taken to hospital where Ulcerative Colitis was diagnosed. She said the doctors seemed unsure as to whether she had Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease, and she said that she also had stomach ulcers.

The appellant reported that she currently attends a Consultant every three months, has a regular colonoscopy and gastroscopy, and has been prescribed a lot of medication. She said she has to plan any journey or visit so that she has easy access to a bathroom.

Comment/Conclusion: The Appeals Officer noted that the appellant has had major difficulties to contend with at a very young age, having been diagnosed with (either) Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s Disease and having significant hearing problems which, he observed, might hopefully be helped with the fitting of hearing aids. He was quite satisfied that her medical complaints meant that she was currently substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment and that she satisfied the medical criteria for receipt of Disability Allowance.

Decision of the Appeals Officer: The appeal is allowed.