SSA evaluates your claim by focusing on your capacity to work. Even so, your limitations must have basis in a medical or mental health condition. When the SSA reviews your case, it will compare your condition to those on their master list called the Listing of Impairments.

SSA views these impairments to be severe enough to prevent you from working full-time. If your condition meets or equals the strict criteria for a medical listing, you are automatically eligible for social security disability benefits. 

Here is the reality: it can be very difficult to meet the specific rules published by SSA for medical listings. However, you may be awarded benefits based on a medical-vocational allowance. A medical-vocational allowance considers your:

Proving Disability for Different Medical Conditions

• Age
• Education
• Work skills
• Level of functional limitation

In fact, most Social Security Disability claims that are approved for benefits are based on medical-vocational allowance.