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THE HEARING ROOM

No. 2 in a series about Social Security disability hearings.

THE DISABILITY HEARING ROOM

The hearing room is usually just a small conference room.  Some recent renovations have tried to make hearing rooms look a little more like courtrooms but generally they do not.

There will be a conference table with 2 or 3 computers on it.  The claimant does not have a computer but the attorney/representative, the reporter and the vocational witness will have one.  The judge will have a desk on a small riser that is slightly above the table where you will sit.  Your representative will sit beside you.

You will speak into a microphone to make a voice recording of everything you say.  Each other participant will also be recorded for the record.  It is important to speak clearly and loud enough for your voice to be picked up by the recording equipment.  Nodding or shaking your head, of course, is not recorded, so be sure to give spoken answers.   "Yes" and "No" are much better than "uh huh," and also more polite.

There will usually be 5 persons present at a hearing:  Claimant, Judge, Representative, Clerk/Reporter, and Vocational Expert.  There are no spectators.

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