With the pandemic preventing claimants from appearing in person for their approval hearings, it can really pack on the pressure to make an especially good impression during your phone hearing. After all, the people responsible for the fate of your benefits can’t see you, or how your disability impacts your physical health. Instead, all they see are your medical records. So, to make sure you have every advantage, take some time to review our following tips for facilitating a more successful disability phone hearing.
Find A Quiet Place
Before your hearing begins, spend some time getting yourself set up in a quiet place somewhere around your home. You’ll want to find a spot away from as much background noise as possible, with somewhere comfortable to sit during the duration of your hearing.
Prep Your Phone
Unless you want your phone or computer to die or lose reception in the middle of your hearing, you need to make sure it’s fully charged and that you have plenty of bars before you begin. If you’re really worried, keep your charger with you and stay near an outlet just in case.
Check Your Sound
During your hearing, you want to make sure your audio quality is as high as possible so that there are no misunderstandings or technical difficulties to deal with later on. This means you should not use speakerphone, or host your call in a space with a heavy echo. In fact, for the best results, try using a headset with a high quality built-in microphone.
Keep Your Phone Hearing Private
You will only get so much time to plead your case, so you’re going to want to make sure you avoid any distractions by keeping your digital hearing as private as possible. The last thing you want is for a friend or loved one to suddenly get a call in the middle of your hearing, or pester you with questions and suggestions during your hearing that ultimately compromise your chances of approval.
Stay Focused
Make sure when you schedule your hearing you don’t have anything else going on during that time so you can stay completely focused and give the judge your undivided attention the entire time. Running errands, eating lunch, answering calls/texts/emails, and getting behind the wheel are all only going to be distractions, and you will need to be ready for any question or request that comes your way.
Communicate Clearly
It’s easy to feel nervous when going into your hearing, but don’t let your nerves keep you from communicating clearly. You want to make sure you’re prompt, loud enough, enunciating your words properly, and expressing yourself in a calm, appropriate manner the entire duration of your hearing.
Take Your Time
If you can’t fight the feeling that you’re being rushed through your hearing, at least try to take your time whenever you’re called upon to answer questions. Never answer a question you don’t know the answer to, or that you didn’t understand. And never hesitate to clarify information or ask judges to repeat themselves. In situations like these, honesty and information accuracy are what matter most.
Be Patient & Courteous
Believe it or not, there’s a good chance you won’t actually do a whole lot of talking during your hearing. In fact, your judge will do most of the talking, so try to wait to speak until you’re directly spoken to. Simply answer the questions you’re presented as calmly, and honestly as you can and leave the rest up to your chosen attorneys.
Don’t have dedicated Social Security disability attorneys of your own to help guide you? Now you do! Our attorneys at Aiello Law Group are here to help, and all at no upfront cost. It’s the law. Just give us a chance and we assure you we will do everything we can to get you a successful disability phone hearing. Call us, today, at 313.964.4900 or fill out the form in the sidebar or on our contact page, and learn more about how we can help you.
