Social Security Administration Understanding FAIL

[service_dog_user]

I have a neurological disorder that causes me all sorts of problems, one of which being a sensory integration problem. On days that I'm no doing so well, I cannot talk to people over the phone because I cannot understand them. My husband usually handles phone calls for me on these days if they cannot wait.

I've been on disability for a little more than a year, and this was the first occasion I've had to contact them by phone. Since I was really not dong well, I had my husband call them. The lady who answered insisted on speaking to me for confirmation, so I did the usual have my husband hold the phone while I said they had permission to speak to him.

Well, apparently this wasn't good enough. The lady insisted that *I* had to be the one carrying out the conversation with her. Nevermind the fact that my husband tried repeatedly to tell her that I could not understand her. Her response? Well, if I just held the phone up to my ear, rather than putting her on speakerphone so my husband could tell me what she was saying, then I would be able to understand her just find. Because that's obviously been my problem the whole time, that I just don't hold the phone up to me ear.

What upset me the most about this whole thing is that the SSA is a disability services program, ergo they work with people with disabilities on a regular basis. You'd think that their representatives would have been trained that if a client says they can't do something, then chances are they can't do it. And to top it all off, she was a complete jerk about it and wouldn't let me speak with her supervisor.

Comments

[codeman38]

The icon pretty much says it all here.

As someone with auditory processing disorder... gah, that is made of so much fail. I could at least understand if they'd said something like "have her call back via TTY" or something reasonable. But "hold the phone up to your ear"? Yeah, no, there's still not enough frequency range for sibilants to help me decipher what's being said, no matter how close I hold it to my ear...

(Next time, incidentally, try calling through CapTel? I've used that service quite often, and it is SO HELPFUL in situations when I can't decipher what people are saying.)

[codeman38]

...Er, sorry, wrong link. The web-based version that you don't need a special phone for is https://www.hamiltonwebcaptel.com/.

[alchemia]

Im confused by the faqs.... if you get an unexpected phone call, do you have to explain to them to call back thru this service?

[codeman38]

Yeah, unfortunately. I suppose you could get IP Relay for incoming calls, though, since that does give you a dedicated number.

[service_dog_user]

Thank you for the link. I will utilize it in the future. To be honest, while I had thought of TTY services in the past, I've never really looked into them for the simple reason that I don't have any hearing loss and so my insurance won't help with the special phones or anything. That, and I only have a cell phone.

But the web-based one is a great solution.

[dreamatdrew]

IP Relay could also serve as an option, with the handy benefit that husband could still handle it for you if necessary, since it's a TTY relay service. I'm REALLY lazy right now, (also, working to breathe because of the evil that has invaded my sinuses,) but it works through AIM, and is free. And stuff.

[service_dog_user]

Thank you; I will look that up and see if I can use it.

[roserodent]

Yep, always have this one. If I actually manage to find a landline phone I can hear at all and a telephone number I can call and their line is good enough that I can still hear them plus other combinations of good fortune meaning the speaker is in one of the frequencies I can hear then I tell them I cannot hear very well, yet if I need something repeated more than 3 times in any one phone call they always ask me to phone back to see if I can get a better line. I patiently try to explain that I will not get any closer to being able to hear them because it's my EARS that do not work.

Next I tried TTY, but the government offices got so tired of people calling the TTY line because the main lines were busy that they now have a person answer to check you are genuinely deaf and calling on TTY, but rather than connect you to TTY to establish this they connect you to a voice phone. If you do not confirm by voice to the person speaking that you are indeed deaf then they cut you off. *facepalm*

[codeman38]

...Was nobody thinking when they implemented this? I mean, seriously, they could've fixed that by having it so that if you confirmed by voice that you could hear and speak, then they'd cut you off.

I like what one US agency I called a while back did: they'd show a TTY message along the lines of "please stand by", then play a voice message telling hearing people that they've called the wrong number, then connect you to the TTY operator. That also makes perfect sense.

[miffedplatypus]

So much fail in that woman. <_< I would either write a letter/email and send it to their complaints department, or on a day that you are doing good, call in and speak with a manager or supervisor.

[service_dog_user]

They have a complaints form on their website, and I put in a complaint through there. I don't know if it'll do any good, but it's really all I had the energy for. I do plan on mentioning it when I go into the office next time.

[miffedplatypus]

Ah, I understand how that is. Hopefully the complaint through their site helps. Good luck! :)

[alchemia]

Ive had the same problem.