Consider using a symptom diary to help prepare for your Social Security disability hearing
When you appear at your Social Security disability hearing you will need to describe the symptoms of your impairment.
Describing your symptoms accurately and fully can be quite difficult. However, this task is easier if you have a symptoms diary that you have kept to record you symptoms as they occur.
What you might record in a disability symptoms diary
The things that you keep track of depends on your symptoms.
At the minimum, you probably want to record the frequency and intensity of your symptoms. To add a little more, you might keep a record of how your symptoms affect your life.
For example, you might record such things as:
- The frequency and intensity of your symptoms (e.g., headaches, backaches, fatigue, or problems sleeping).
- Things that you used to do but can no longer do.
- The medications that you take.
- Your doctor appointments and the various treatments that you have tried.
What a symptoms diary might look like
Different people’s symptom diaries will look different because there are different types of things that you might want to keep track of. Furthermore, depending on what you are keeping track of, your chart or diary might measure by the hour, by the day, or by the week.
The following is a basic chart for a symptom diary for pain.
| Date and/or Time | Location of the pain | How severe the pain was (use a scale of 1-10) | What you were doing when the pain started | What you did to get relief from the pain | How long the pain lasted |
This type of chart (or a similar one that you make up) could help you record your pain episodes.
Contact us for help with your Social Security disability claim
If your application has been denied, and you are not already represented by a Tennessee Social Security disability attorney, contact us for assistance.
Joseph Sullivan
Law Office of Joseph P. Sullivan
Knoxville Social Security disability law firm
523 West Lamar Alexander Parkway, Suite 1
Maryville, TN 37801
