need help/advice with disability/FMLA

[zx7ninja]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut

Hi there. I am in need of assistance and advice on what I should do next.

I am currently out on disability from my job. Have been for a couple of months.
My job is 100% on the telephone providing technical support.

The disability I have developed is a hearing issue, Hyperacusis. It is an extreme sensitivity to sound. My Dr's have me out of work, as I am unable to use the telephone. (or listen to music, go to loud places, etc.... basically, stuck at home)

I also have very bad tinnitus, ringing 100% of the time. Very loud.

Also, my neurologist and audiologist have located another issue, a processing issue in my brain that causes one ear to not be able to distinguish sounds from one another, and when there are multiple sounds at once, it's just a mish-mash. The same ear also has an audio delay half a second behind the other. This all causes normal everyday sounds to be painful.

Because of it all, I am now suffering very bad migraines.

The reason I am posting, is because I am currently on FMLA, and receive short-term disability from my employer and their ins co.
I am expected to be back end of this month.

That's not going to happen. I just found out I need to undergo tinnitus and hearing retraining therapy, which will last months.
Also, I will now permanently have to wear hearing filters. They are hearing aides, but do the opposite job, they reduce sound, instead of amplify it.

I also just found out that even if the retraining therapy and filters work, they will not alleviate the problem 100%.

I will be stuck with this problem for the rest of my life.

The tinnitus and hyperacusis MAY be alleviated somewhat, the processing issues will never go away. Therefore neither will the headaches.

The Dr's will not clear me for work, but if not back at work by the end of the month i'm terminated. And Ins gets cancelled. Work will NOT let me back without a signed medical release, which the Dr's can't give me.

My short-term will continue, then long-term if necessary. No issues there. But the ins is an problem. I can't lose that, or I will never get better.

Now, I NEVER had any hearing issues before taking this job. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT placing blame. That is NOT my goal here. But even my Dr's have said it may be the cause of the job.

Work is severely understaffed. 100's of calls in queue at all times. There is not even a second cool-down time between calls. 8-1/2 hours a day of straight calls. Also, the equipment is extremely sub-par. Very high distortion, high volume audio coming from the headsets.

In fact, in the months before being put on FMLA, I had asked multiple times for better equipment due to pain, and was denied. My Dr made a request, denied.

My Dr has stated that if the request had been fulfilled for high quality low-distortion equipment at the beginning, my issue likely would not have developed.

Now, I also suffer from certain learning disabilities. My Dr's have all stated that the combination of these disabilities, with the stress on my ears from the constant distortion/volume on my ears caused my brain to develop the trauma/disorder/processing issue/whatever you want to call it that is at the heart of my problem.

Now, work does not know that they may be the cause of my issue. Neither I, nor my DR's, have said anything to them. I originally wanted it that way. I did NOT want to have a problem at work when I returned, and I did not want to make a bad situation worse by needlessly placing blam or causing a big to-do when I could just get fixed, go back to work, and put it all behind me.

See, I thought this was a temporary issue that would go away.
Now I am shocked with the realization that this is permanent. For rhe rest of my life I will have to deal with this, wear filters, and who knows what else. It has been steadily getting worse, and none of my Dr's knows when it will finally stop.

Now, the big questions I have are, do I tell work they may be the cause? If so, it would open a whole legal conundrum my family and I are not equipped to handle.
I was told then my short-term would stop, and then worker's comp would take over. I know nothing about this.
Do I just let the date pass, and get terminated? The short-term ins co told me if so, I go on long-term, and then some form of social security. I know nothing about any of this.

I don't know what to do here. I am stuck with a permanent issue, and wit what seems like no options, or at least only ones that will make my situation worse.

I have 2 kids, 3 and 4, that depend on me. I am the only member of my family who can work. Wife can't work, due to major medical issues. (breast cancer, and other issues, she's been out of work 5 years, had one cancer surgery already, and is going for another soon). She's in bad shape.

Now, i'm scared. I don't want to lose my home, or my kids. Don't know what to do here.

If anyone has any comments or advice on this extremely complicated issue, please speak up. It is much appreciated.

thanks.

[ecmst12]

If it becomes workers comp, you can still be terminated, but WC will be covering your medical bills (for this issue only of course) so you won't have to worry as much about losing your insurance. You will be offered Cobra in any case.

You should speak to a WC attorney right away, since so much time has already passed and you haven't filed the WC claim yet.

[mrrobert]

WC is "no fault" so don't worry about "blame".

the WC doctors are NOT on your side, the big company pays for DRs to favor them not the patient.

you really need to consult WC attorney right away to have someone look out for your best

[Ozark_Sophist]

In addition to workman's comp attorney, you probably want to get the ball rolling on disability--just in case.