i'm late deaf i guess (still not sure if the label fits lol), am on disability for other conditions, unrelated to hearing loss. if disability is defined as requiring accommodations - yes, i believe hearing loss is a disability. like i need captions on movies, cuz i can't hear sounds. need a flashing carbon monoxide detector too, for the same reason. in this sense - yes, of course it's a disability. and in a sense of deserving social security benefits - i figure it depends on the person, same as with any other disability really.
i saw a documentary once, about a guy who has no legs and only one arm, and he makes a living by doing motivational speeches. i mean, kudos to him, but i wouldn't tell another person missing three limbs out of four that they should make their own living and not depend on government assistance. cuz that would be just asinine. recently i had to be in a hospital for a while, had a couple of surgeries, chitchatted with a night shift nurse, cuz i was having insomnia and she had nothing better to do, was bored. it turned out she has the same condition i do, that qualifies me for disability. she said she used to be on disability before, and now is working. and i used to work before, and now am on disability. with the same condition, that both of us developed in late adolescence. i think that's just how disabilities are, sometimes you can work and other times you can't, it fluctuates over time and from person to person.
when you apply for disability benefits - they evaluate your situation, pull up medical records, employment, etc, they actually check if it looks like you can work or not. so i personally don't focus on whether in my opinion someone deserves the benefits they are receiving or not. cuz i haven't seen their records, have no idea what their situation is really. someone else checked it, someone trained, experienced, and having access to all records. so yeah, i trust their judgement. my disability, that qualifies me for benefits, isn't glaringly obvious, so sometimes i get looks, eyerolls, scoffs, etc. i think it's silly, but i don't have to explain/justify my situation to every nosy person i bump into, who wouldn't mind their own business and who thinks they can judge whether i'm disabled or not just by my general looks.
if it helps - i volunteer places, so i don't feel like i'm too big of a leech on the society, i still contribute something to it. and yeah, used to pay taxes while i worked. which was most of my life.