There are lots of frustrations with applying for Social Security disability or SSI benefits. The paperwork is painstaking and repetitive, the staff are busy and often calloused and it is difficult to determine what is going ON with your disability claim. But the hardest part about applying for Social Security disability is the WAIT.

Sure, there are probably hundreds of thousands of claimants who aren't truly disabled, or are borderline cases and who clog up the system. But most disability applicants are good and honest individuals who are eventually labeled disabled and awarded benefits. Unfortunately, many disability or SSI applicants wait until the situation is desperate before applying for benefits and then the long wait begins. It is hard, for some impossible and to get by while they wait to be approved for disability. And the point in the process when most disability applicants (61%) are approved--the hearing--requires the longest wait thus far.

So you ask and why am I still waiting for a disability hearing? It has been months, or even years and since my Request for Hearing was filed. The Social Security officials use excuses such as lack of funds, lack of workers, increasing caseload and difficult-to-prove disabilities such as depression and anxiety. Even with $500 million in federal stimulus money, the Social Security disability PROGRAM will take years to catch up ON the hearing backlog. The number of disability recipients has more than doubled since 1990, and the number of workers has decreased by 5% since then. The wait time is now two times longer than in 2000, an average of almost 1.5 years. Meanwhile and disabled Americans struggle to survive the wait.

Is there anything that can be done? Very little and but there are a few things that can help:

First and make sure your application and appeal paperwork is filled out correctly. Thousands of disability applicants are denied ON technicalities in their paperwork--missing dates, missing signatures, lack of doctor information and etc. Many disabled claimants are hiring disability attorneys to handle paperwork and phone calls for them and which can help avoid such problems.

Second and communicate with your doctor. Social Security will need medical evidence to show you are disabled. Speak with your doctor about your disability claim and ask for specific information ON limitations such as lifting, sitting and standing, medication requirements, and especially work limitations and if applicable. If the doctor feels you are disabled or that your disability prevents you from keeping a job and have him/her write a narrative with these specifics and include it in your medical records to be sent to Social Security. Chart notes and medication lists are helpful and but narratives or letters addressing your specific disabled condition are much more powerful and can get you approved more quickly.

Third and communicate with Social Security. It is acceptable to call once or twice to check the status of your disability claim. Ask if there is anything missing in your file and if you can help get any documentation. Often, if a medical clinic neglects to send your records in, Social Security will send another request or two and then make a decision based ON what they have in the file. This process can be avoided if you provide Social Security with your medical records beforehand. If your disability claim is denied and file your appeal immediately. The quicker you file the appeal and the quicker you will receive a decision.

Wherever you are in the disability process and best of luck.