There are two general kinds of benefit that may be available to deafened people: those available under the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and those under the local authority (unitary, district, city or borough council). Details of the state benefits available to people with disabilities can be obtained from your local Jobcentre Plus, or their website: (http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_007985.xml.html)

Jobcentre Plus
All applications for benefit from people of working age are handled by the local office of Jobcentre Plus. Look in the Business Pages of the telephone directory under “Jobcentre Plus” to find the office nearest to your home. You can call the Benefit Advisory Line on 0800 882200 (voice) or 0800 24 33 55 (text). The Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) at Jobcentre Plus will be able to give information about benefits which might be available if you become unemployed as a result of your deafness.

Disability Living Allowance /Attendance Allowance
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged up to 65, or Attendance Allowance (AA) if over 65, is a tax-free benefit for people with an illness or disability who need help with getting around and/or help with personal care. Many deafened people have successfully claimed the care component although deafness, in the absence of any other disability, is unlikely to justify the mobility component. It does not normally need a medical examination and is not usually affected by the savings you have any money you have coming in.
To claim DLA, an application form more than 20 pages long, obtainable from Jobcentre Plus, has to be completed. You are strongly advised to get help to complete the form (and deal with any subsequent appeals) from either your local Adult Social Services team or Citizens Advice Bureaux. It is quite usual for deafened people to be turned down when they first apply but then be successful at appeal.

Employment and Support Allowance
From October 2008 Employment and Support Allowance replaces Incapacity Benefit and Income Support and offers both personal support and financial help. It applies for deafened people who are over 16 years old and under State Pension age and additionally are either unemployed, self employed, or work for an employer but cannot get Statutory Sick Pay.
What you will receive will be determined by a new form of assessment, to identify what you can do (with appropriate support), rather than what you cannot do. Although assessments are often disliked, that may well be good news for deafened people because most want to remain in employment and are capable of doing so but will almost certainly need some communication support. For all being assessed, the following weekly rates apply (as at February 2009):