Can you get life insurance with tinnitus?

If you’ve developed tinnitus, you may be wondering whether it will affect your ability to get life insurance.

The reassuring news is that most people with tinnitus can still get life insurance, often at standard rates. While insurers may ask a few additional questions about your condition, tinnitus itself is not considered a life-threatening condition and, on its own, rarely affects the cost or availability of cover.

Does tinnitus affect life insurance?

Usually, no.

When assessing an application, insurers are less interested in the tinnitus itself and more interested in what might be causing it. Their main concern is whether tinnitus is a symptom of another medical condition that could affect your long-term health, rather than tinnitus being a risk in its own right.

If your tinnitus has been investigated and there is no serious underlying cause, many people are offered life insurance on standard terms.

What will insurers ask?

Every insurer is different, but you can expect questions such as:

• What caused your tinnitus?
• Have you had hearing tests or scans?
• Do you have any hearing loss?
• How much does tinnitus affect your daily life?
• Are you receiving treatment or support?

These questions help insurers understand your individual circumstances rather than making assumptions based on a tinnitus diagnosis alone.

Does noise-induced tinnitus make a difference?

Many people develop tinnitus after years of exposure to loud noise. This is common among people who have worked in:

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Farming
• The music and entertainment industry
• Emergency services
• The Armed Forces

While these occupations carry a higher risk of developing tinnitus and hearing loss, insurers generally assess occupational tinnitus in the same way as any other form of tinnitus. What matters is the severity of your symptoms, any hearing loss, and whether there are any associated medical conditions, not the job that caused it.

For military veterans, tinnitus is often accompanied by noise-induced hearing loss or, in some cases, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These conditions will usually be assessed individually as part of the overall application.

When could tinnitus affect your application?

Although most people experience no issues, insurers may ask for additional information if your tinnitus is linked to:

• Significant hearing loss.
• Ménière’s disease.
• An acoustic neuroma.
• Severe anxiety or depression related to tinnitus.
• Pulsatile tinnitus, which may require investigation to rule out underlying vascular conditions.

If pulsatile tinnitus has already been fully investigated and no serious cause has been found, it is generally considered low risk. If investigations are still ongoing, an insurer may choose to delay making a decision until the results are available.

Does treatment help?

Yes. Insurers generally view it positively if your tinnitus has been assessed and you’re managing it appropriately.

This could include:

• Hearing aids.
• Sound therapy.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
• Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT).
• Other evidence-based support recommended by your healthcare team.

Be honest on your application

When applying for life insurance, it’s important to answer every medical question accurately.

If you’ve had scans, hearing tests or investigations that ruled out a serious underlying cause, make sure you include this information. It helps insurers make a fair assessment based on your individual circumstances.

The bottom line

For the vast majority of people, having tinnitus won’t stop you getting life insurance.

The factors that matter most are whether your tinnitus has been properly investigated, whether it’s linked to another medical condition, and how well it’s being managed, not simply the fact that you have tinnitus.

If you’re unsure how tinnitus may affect your application, consider speaking to a qualified insurance adviser who can help you understand the process and find the most appropriate policy.

This article is based on information from Life Insurance with Tinnitus by Dean Nerney (CeMAP) and is intended for general information only. It should not be considered financial advice.