PIP for Hearing Loss & Sight Loss 2026: Can You Claim?

Hearing loss and the activities in Schedule 1:

• Activity 7, communicating verbally: descriptor b (2 points) applies if you need to use an aid or appliance to be able to speak or hear, descriptor c (4 points) if you need communication support to express or understand complex verbal information, descriptor d (8 points) if you need it for basic verbal information, and descriptor e (12 points) if you cannot express or understand verbal information at all even with communication support.
• Lip reading is not considered an acceptable way to interpret verbal communication.
• Verbal information can include information interpreted from verbal into non-verbal form, for example speech interpreted through sign language.
• A deaf person who cannot communicate verbally and does not use sign language might need communication support to support them in another way even if they do not routinely have such help.
• Descriptor b applies to claimants who require a hearing aid in order to hear to an acceptable standard, and claimants could still meet descriptor d even if they use aids, where those aids do not restore speech, hearing or understanding to an acceptable level.
• Activity 9, engaging with other people: where someone with a sensory impairment scores under activity 7 or 8, it may be that anxiety arising from their impairment means they also reasonably need help to engage with others face to face.
• The DWP guide says a deaf or hearing impaired claimant who is not able to hear a standard fire alarm while washing or bathing may need a visual alarm to alert them to the risk of fire, in order to wash or bathe safely.
• Activity 11, planning and following journeys: the DWP guide says a profoundly deaf person may need a person to accompany them to relay information, such as changes to a journey, due to minor disruptions.
• The guide says a claimant with a severe visual or profound hearing impairment may be at a substantial risk from traffic when crossing a road.

Sight loss and the activities in Schedule 1:

• Activity 8, reading and understanding signs, symbols and words: descriptor b (2 points) applies if you need to use an aid or appliance, other than spectacles or contact lenses, to read or understand basic or complex written information, descriptor c (2 points) if you need prompting for complex written information, descriptor d (4 points) if you need prompting for basic written information, and descriptor e (8 points) if you cannot read or understand signs, symbols or words at all.
• The DWP guide says that to be considered able to read, you must be able to see the information, and that accessing information via Braille is not considered as reading for this activity.
• Consideration must be given to whether you can read and understand information both indoors and outdoors.
• The PIP2 booklet says that if you access information using braille you should tell it about that in the reading section, and that aids and appliances for reading might include magnifiers but do not include normal spectacles or contact lenses.
• Activity 1, preparing food: the DWP guide says the descriptor for needing supervision or assistance also applies to claimants who are unable to determine whether food is safe to eat, for example that meat is properly cooked, due to sensory or cognitive impairment.
• The guide gives liquid level indicators to substitute for sight when pouring liquid as an example of an aid or appliance.
• Activity 11, planning and following journeys: the DWP guide says a claimant with a severe visual impairment may be at a substantial risk from traffic when crossing a road.
• Descriptor d (10 points) applies if you cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid, and descriptor f (12 points) if you cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid.
• You can satisfy the unfamiliar journey descriptor by showing that you typically need to be accompanied by another person or an assistance dog or to use an orientation aid on the majority of days when undertaking unfamiliar journeys, and the presence of another person out of preference is not sufficient.
• The guide says guide, hearing and dual sensory dogs are not aids, but activity 11 explicitly refers to an assistance dog, which is defined as a dog trained to help people with sensory impairments.
• A long cane as used by a person with sight impairment is an example of a specialist orientation aid, and ordinary satellite navigation systems such as those found in mobile phones, maps and lists of directions do not count as specialist.
• Activity 12, moving around: the DWP guide says it considers a claimant's physical ability to move around without severe discomfort, such as breathlessness, pain or fatigue, and that any issues with the ability to stand and then move belong under activity 12.
• Activity 10, making budgeting decisions: the DWP guide says reduced vision or mobility does not impact on making budgeting decisions, though limited sight may mean you require someone else to read or help with travel.

Regulation 4 says you are assessed as satisfying a descriptor only if you can do the activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time period. Your ability is assessed on the basis of your ability whilst wearing or using any aid or appliance which you normally wear or use, or as if you were wearing or using any aid or appliance which you could reasonably be expected to wear or use.

The PIP2 booklet lists these among the things you could send:

• Hearing or vision tests.
• A certificate of visual impairment.
• Hospital discharge or outpatient clinic letters about your condition or diagnosis, and letters from your consultants about your condition or diagnosis
• Reports, statements or diaries from carers or family members
• Your current repeat prescription list

The DWP guide lists a report from an ophthalmologist and an audiologist's report among the further evidence a health professional may seek where it would help to inform their advice to DWP.

• The PIP2 booklet says to tell DWP if you need an interpreter for an assessment appointment, for example British Sign Language.
• The DWP guide says reasonable adjustments such as a BSL interpreter, ground floor consultation room or accessibility toilet may need to be put in place.
• If you are invited to a consultation, you may contact the assessment provider in advance to request a change of assessment channel or for reasonable adjustments, and the guide says the provider should make every effort to accommodate these requests.
• Where an alternative appointment is needed, the guide says written notice should be given in the appropriate format where required, for example large print or braille.
• For visually impaired claimants, the guide says the health professional should explain what they are doing at each stage of the assessment.
• GOV.UK says you can have someone else with you at the assessment, for example a friend or support worker.

You need at least 8 points for the standard rate and at least 12 points for the enhanced rate of the daily living or mobility part. In 2026/27 the daily living part is £76.70 or £114.60 a week and the mobility part is £30.30 or £80.00 a week. PIP is usually paid every 4 weeks.

See the PIP rates 2026/27, the points and descriptors, and, if you are refused, our PIP appeal guide. Our PIP for autism guide covers another condition assessed through the same activities.