Life Insurance With Tinnitus
Tinnitus is unusual among the conditions on this list because nothing in your medical record can prove or disprove it.
What the record will have is whatever was done to look for a cause, and that is almost always a hearing test.
There is also an occupational thread here that runs straight back to a lot of trades.
The short answer
Tinnitus is a sound you hear that has no external source, and there is no test that confirms or measures it: it is entirely what you report. What there usually is instead is a hearing test, because tinnitus and hearing loss travel together, and for a great many people the cause is years of occupational noise.
What it is
Tinnitus is the perception of sound, commonly ringing, buzzing, hissing or humming, without an external source. It can affect one ear or both, be constant or intermittent, and ranges from barely noticeable to genuinely intrusive.
It is very often accompanied by some degree of hearing loss. Common associations include noise exposure, age-related hearing change, ear wax, middle ear problems and some medications. Management focuses on hearing support where relevant, sound therapy and psychological approaches, since there is no treatment that reliably removes it.
Why it comes up on an application
- There is no objective test, so what you say is the information. Being clear about one ear or both, constant or intermittent, and how long you have had it is the useful answer.
- A hearing test is the usual investigation and is frequently the only thing in the record. The result is worth knowing.
- Occupational noise is the common cause and is a separate declarable thing: years in a noisy trade is relevant history in its own right.
- Tinnitus in one ear only is sometimes investigated more thoroughly, occasionally with an MRI, and any scan counts as an investigation.
- Sleep disruption and low mood are common with intrusive tinnitus, and if either has been treated, that treatment is its own entry.
- Where it has affected work, that is a direct question on an application.
What we would ask you
- How long you have had it, and whether it is one ear or both
- Whether you have had a hearing test, and what it showed
- Whether you have ever had an MRI or other scan for it
- Whether you have worked somewhere noisy, and for how long
- Whether it has affected your sleep or mood, and whether that was treated
- Whether you are currently off work or working reduced hours because of an accident, injury or illness
- Whether you are waiting on any medical tests, appointments or treatment
- Whether you have been diagnosed with or treated for cancer in the last five years
- Whether a parent, brother or sister was diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or a stroke before 65
- Any medication you take
- Whether you smoke, and your date of birth
Nothing Can Measure It, So Describe It Well
This is the practical consequence of tinnitus being subjective, and it changes how to answer rather than making it harder.
There is no blood test and no scan that shows tinnitus. An audiologist can test your hearing and ask you to match the pitch, and beyond that the condition is what you report it to be. That means your description is the data.
So give the useful version: how long, one ear or both, constant or comes and goes, and whether it stops you sleeping. Vague answers are not suspicious here, they are simply less informative, and a clear description is the best thing you can offer.
For Many People This Came From Work
The occupational angle is strong enough that it deserves its own answer rather than being folded into the tinnitus.
Sustained noise exposure is among the commonest causes, and the trades it affects are well known: factory and production work, machining, groundwork and plant, airport ground operations, forestry, greenkeeping, and anybody who has spent years around power tools or machinery.
If that is your history, say so with a rough number of years. It explains the tinnitus, it explains anything the hearing test shows, and it is a legitimate part of your record. It is also worth noting that hearing protection genuinely works, which matters more than any policy for anybody still in those trades.
Which cover is relevant
Relevant for two reasons: the occupational noise that often caused it, and because intrusive tinnitus with poor sleep does genuinely affect people's ability to work.
The usual starting point. Tinnitus itself is rarely a factor; any hearing loss and the exposure behind it sit in the picture.
Pays on diagnosis of a listed serious condition. Many policies list total and permanent hearing loss, which is not the same as tinnitus, so read the definitions.
Common questions
Can tinnitus be proven on a test?+
No. There is no objective test for it. An audiologist can test your hearing and ask you to match the pitch, but the condition is what you report. That means a clear description, one ear or both, constant or intermittent, how long, is the most useful thing you can give.
Do I need to declare tinnitus?+
Answer what you are asked. If a question covers ongoing conditions or hearing, then yes. The hearing test result, if you have had one, is usually the only objective thing in the record and is worth including.
Mine came from work. Should I say that?+
Yes, with a rough number of years in the noisy environment. Occupational noise is among the commonest causes, it is a legitimate part of your history, and it explains anything a hearing test shows.
Will it affect my income protection?+
Worth asking rather than assuming, and anything in your records will come up. Honestly, intrusive tinnitus with disturbed sleep does affect people's ability to work, so it is a realistic rather than theoretical consideration.
Is tinnitus covered by critical illness cover?+
Many policies list total and permanent loss of hearing, which is a different and much higher bar than tinnitus. Read the definitions in the specific policy rather than assuming either way, and we can go through them with you.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.