Most SSDI claims are routinely denied outright at first except for undeniable proven disabilities that are severe.
Usually, if you have a questionable ailment, it will take a lawyer to handle the case, often providing their own doctors, and the case must go before an arbitration or court.
I’m only getting my information from a year old NPR report on a “call center” in eastern Washington state that was talking about how they were incented to get as many people on disability as possible.
The disability thing is fascinating to me because I live in an area where a lot of people are on it. And my neighbor was denied twice (even his doctor said he was not eligible) but he went to court and eventually got it. The guy lives in a trashed single wide with his wife and two kids, but he keeps the yard immaculate.
Thing is, the cost of living is so low here that you can LIVE fairly comfortably on disability. It’s why, statistically, such a high percentage of people here get it. My home of 45 years, Seattle, is not a place you would want to live off it, so people tend to not try to get it unless they REALLY need it.
Just another way stats are skewed and don’t tell the whole story.