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If you have chronic migraines or another headache disorder that severely limits your ability to work, you may be able to get disability benefits. You need medical records and other evidence that establish a condition and show how the headaches disrupt your ability to work consistently.
To get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for migraines or other headaches, your records must show the Social Security Administration (SSA) how long you’ve had them, how severe they are, and how they affect your work reliability.
Migraines and other headache disorders aren’t on the SSA’s Listing of Impairments, so reviewers use the evidence in your file to see how they prevent you from doing the jobs you used to do or switching to other types of work.
This article explains the evidence you need to get SSDI or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for migraines or other serious headaches.
Migraines and other headache disorders are primary conditions, which means the headache is the medical condition causing symptoms rather than a symptom of another health issue. If your headaches are caused by another medical condition, they are secondary headaches.
Migraines involve more than head pain. Migraine with aura can cause flashing lights, blind spots, tingling, ringing ears, or trouble speaking. You may also get nauseous or dizzy, have trouble concentrating or remembering things, and be sensitive to light, sound, or other workplace conditions. Your symptoms might differ from one migraine to the next.
Other headache disorders also cause severe pain and various symptoms. Common types of headaches include:
Recurring headaches can disrupt work even when you feel well between episodes. You may not be able to do normal job duties or work five days a week because of headache symptoms.
It’s uncommon for a headache disorder to medically equal an SSA listing. In most migraine SSDI claims, reviewers look at your residual functional capacity (RFC), which is the most you can do at work despite your medical limitations. They use the RFC assessment to decide if you can do your past jobs or adjust to other work.
The RFC measures your ability to work eight hours a day, five days a week. Migraines and other recurring headaches can make you miss work, arrive late, or leave shifts early.
When you have headaches regularly, the missed workdays can add up to more absences than most employers will accept. Because headaches often start without warning, they make it hard to be reliable for a set schedule. Plus, you may need recovery time after the worst symptoms are over, causing you to miss more work.
You might be able to stay at work during a headache but struggle to do your job. It can be hard to focus, remember instructions, or maintain a steady pace when you’re working with a headache, and reviewers count that as time off task. You might also forget what you were doing or not be able to finish tasks. Headache medication can also cause a list of side effects that disrupt your work.
When you have a headache, you often need to stop what you’re doing and rest or lie down in a dark, quiet space. You might also get nauseous or dizzy. If you are able to stay at work, you may need an extra or unscheduled break. Some medications, like triptans, make the headache go away but can leave you feeling dizzy, tired, or weak.
Sometimes after headache pain subsides, you may still have symptoms or need more recovery time. It’s common to be tired and sensitive to light, sound, and smells after the headache is over. It can take a while to feel well.
Needing extra breaks or recovery time after a headache interferes with working a typical schedule.
Fatigue, vision problems, and sensitivity to light, sound, or smell can make some work environments hard to tolerate when you have a headache and after.
You may have trouble using a computer, working around bright or flashing lights, being in a loud room, or operating machinery. Sensitivities can also make headaches worse.
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Get EvaluationTo get Social Security disability for migraines, your records first need to establish that you have a headache disorder, or what the SSA calls a medically determinable impairment (MDI). That means you need enough evidence from an acceptable medical source to establish that a condition exists.
Evidence needed to establish an MDI includes your headache history, exam findings, treatment history, and notes showing your provider considered other possible causes and found evidence to support your diagnosis.
Normal imaging doesn’t rule out migraines or another headache disorder. An MRI, CT scan, or other tests may rule out other possible headache causes rather than confirm a diagnosis.
Notes from your neurologist or primary care doctor should help reviewers understand what your headaches are like when you have them. Your provider needs to document how long you’ve had headaches, what symptoms you have with them, and how the headaches have changed over time.
Good notes also show what the doctor saw during exams, such as dizziness, trouble concentrating or remembering, neck stiffness, difficulty staying balanced, flushing or paleness, nasal congestion, tearing, a drooping or puffy eyelid, a constricted pupil, or needing a dark, quiet room during the exam.
Your doctor can note these symptoms even if they don’t see you during a headache episode. Tell them in detail the symptoms you notice so they’ll be documented.
Someone who’s observed what happens during one of your headaches can also tell the doctor what they observed. Their statements about what they’ve seen, like that you have to stop doing activities, lay in a dark room, cancel plans, or take medicine and rest, are also helpful for your claim.
Once your records establish a headache disorder, they need to show the pattern of your headaches. How do your recurring headaches change in frequency, duration, and severity?
Your records should show how often you have headaches, how severe they are, and how long they last so reviewers understand how often headaches disrupt your life.
A headache can last a few hours or more than a day. If the length or frequency of your headaches varies, your records need to show that pattern.
Headaches can also come in clusters with several bad days close together. A monthly average might miss that pattern and make your headaches look more predictable than they are. The more details you can share, the better reviewers understand your work limitations.
SSDI reviewers need to see that you’ve tried to treat your migraines or other headaches. Your records and statements should explain what treatments you’ve tried and how well they worked. Include medications you take and dosage.
With chronic migraines, treatment may make your headaches less frequent, shorter, or less severe without stopping them completely. If you continue to have headaches despite treatment, or if a drug causes side effects, your records and statements need to reflect that.
Your records need to explain the recovery time you need after a headache and how long it takes you to return to normal activities. If the pain subsides, but you continue to have fatigue, difficulty thinking, sensitivities, or medication side effects, those details help show the full length of the episode.
A headache diary, or migraine diary, can help you and your doctor track and document your headache patterns. Track your headaches for at least a month, noting how long they last and how severe they are. Rate the pain on a 1-10 scale.
Useful headache diary details include:
Record headaches right after they happen so you don’t forget important information. A headache diary adds details that may not be in your medical notes; it doesn’t establish headaches as an MDI.
In most SSDI claims for migraines and other headaches, reviewers use the RFC assessment to decide if your limitations prevent you from doing your past work or adjusting to other work.
Migraines don’t have their own SSA listing, so sometimes reviewers compare a severe headache disorder with the epilepsy listing, which the agency considers the closest match. Reviewers use the comparison to decide if the headache disorder is equal in severity to Listing 11.02, but that finding is rare.
Check your SSDI eligibility in a few minutes.
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Talk with our team about your situation. We'll walk you through what comes next.
Get EvaluationSee what documents you need. We'll help you get everything in place.
Get EvaluationNot sure what that SSA letter means? We can review it with you.
Get EvaluationGet support from a team that handles the paperwork and follows through.
Get EvaluationIf the SSA denied your claim, read why in the decision notice. It should explain what evidence was reviewed, what reviewers found about your condition, and why they decided you could still work.
Use their reason for denial as the focus for your SSDI appeal. At reconsideration, you can submit additional medical evidence, report new or worsening symptoms, or provide statements about how headaches limit your ability to work. You may ask people who know you to provide statements as well.
If your claim is headed to a hearing, new evidence must be submitted at least five business days before the hearing unless you have a good reason for an exception (like you were in the hospital or had a family emergency).
Learn how to file an appeal after a denial.
Whether you are just applying or have been denied, Advocate can help. We specialize in SSDI claims and concurrent SSDI and SSI claims.
We can’t promise approval, but we can help you understand SSA requirements, organize your claim information, and respond to the agency.
Our disability specialists can help you apply, file an appeal, or prepare for a hearing with an administrative law judge. We can also represent you at a hearing.
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