Last Updated 12th November 2025. Being involved in a car accident can be a very traumatic experience, causing you to suffer various physical and psychological injuries, such as tinnitus and anxiety. If you have suffered tinnitus due to suffering a head injury or the sound of the airbag deploying, you may be looking into whether you could make a tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim.
If you contact our friendly team of advisors today, they can assess your tinnitus claim after a car accident, and if it is valid, they could connect you with one of our expert solicitors. They have years of experience working across various car accident claims, so can help you with gathering relevant supporting evidence, ensuring your claim is submitted in a timely manner, and negotiating your tinnitus car accident settlement to cover any physical, psychological and financial harm you have suffered.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What is tinnitus? Tinnitus is when you hear noises that do not come from an outside source; this can sound like buzzing, ringing or humming.
- What could help me cope with my tinnitus? If your tinnitus is unknown or untreatable, you may be referred to talking therapy such as cognitive behavioural therapy, tinnitus counselling or tinnitus retraining therapy.
- How could a car accident cause tinnitus? Head injuries that damage the inner ear structures or nerves, the loud sound of the airbag deploying and stress following a car accident could all cause tinnitus.
- What financial losses could tinnitus cause? Tinnitus could cause you to suffer financial losses such as fees to see an audiologist, talking therapy fees, hearing aids and travel costs to medical appointments.
- Will I have to pay to work with one of your solicitors? Our solicitors work on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning there is nothing to pay for their services upfront, but you will pay them a legally limited success fee out of your compensation if your claim succeeds.
If you are suffering with tinnitus after a car accident and are wondering whether you may be eligible for compensation, get in contact with our advisors today.
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You can also watch our video below which explains the key takeaways from our guide:
Can I Claim Compensation For Tinnitus After A Car Accident?
If your ears are ringing after a car accident, you may wonder if you are eligible for personal injury compensation.
In order to have valid grounds to seek compensation for whiplash and tinnitus, you must meet the personal injury claims eligibility criteria. This means that you will be expected to prove that:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- This duty was breached.
- You suffered injuries because of this breach.
While using the roads, all road users owe each other a duty of care to navigate the roads in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others. To uphold this duty, road users must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 as well as any relevant rules and regulations found in the Highway Code. If you suffer an injury because another driver failed to comply with this duty, you could be eligible to make a tinnitus compensation claim.
To find out more about eligibility, speak with one of our advisors.
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What Is The Time Limit When Claiming Tinnitus After A Car Accident Compensation?
The general time limit when claiming tinnitus after a car accident compensation is 3 years from the accident date. This was established by the Limitation Act 1980, however certain exceptions can apply.
Circumstances where the standard 3 year time limit is disapplied include:
- Children: a person who was under 18 at the time of the accident cannot make a claim for themselves. The time limit is therefore paused until they reach 18, giving them until they turn 21 to make their claim.
- Persons without sufficient mental capacity: An injured person who lacks the capacity to claim for themselves, whether due to their injuries or a prior condition, is not subject to any limitation period. If they recover to a suitable degree however, the time limit is counted from the date of recovery.
In these cases, a parent, legal guardian or another suitable adult can apply to act as their litigation friend. This gives the adult the authority to make decisions about the claim with the injured person’s solicitor, while acting in their best interests.
You can learn more about the time limit to claim for tinnitus after a car accident by speaking to our advisory team today.
How Can Car Accidents Cause Tinnitus?
There are various injuries that you could sustain in a road traffic accident that may result in tinnitus. These include:
- Suffering a neck injury, such as whiplash.
- Brain damage can also result in tinnitus. Some brain injuries can affect the nerves in a way that causes them to misfire and result in hearing sounds associated with tinnitus.
- A head injury without brain damage. Head trauma can result in a perforated eardrum or other damage to the inner and middle ear, which can result in developing tinnitus.
- Additionally, a sudden loud noise, such as from an airbag deployment, can also cause tinnitus. This can occur without suffering another injury.
Get in touch with an advisor to discuss whether or not you meet the criteria to claim tinnitus after a car accident compensation.
Proving Who Is Liable In Tinnitus After A Car Accident Compensation Cases
There are multiple ways to establish who breached their duty of care in a car accident, such as:
- CCTV footage – If you have CCTV footage, this can provide videos and images of the car accident. This will show exactly who’s at fault and what happened.
- Witness statements- Witnesses of the car crash can write witness statements explaining what they saw happen.
- Photos of any injuries – If you had visible injuries as well as tinnitus, make sure to take photos of these.
- Pictures of damage to your car – If your car was damaged due to the crash, you should take photos of the damage to include in your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim.
- Medical notes – You should provide medical records to show your tinnitus diagnosis and treatment plan.
If you need more advice about proving who is liable for your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim, our team of advisers would be happy to help. They’re available 24 hours a day to offer legal advice for free and have a chat about your situation.
Once they’ve checked your claim is valid, they can connect you to an expert personal injury solicitor. They can then assess how much compensation you may be entitled to and discuss No Win No Fee agreements with you.
Compensation Payouts For Tinnitus After A Car Accident
Some guides may include a personal injury claims calculator to calculate how much tinnitus after a car accident compensation you may be entitled to. Instead, we’ve included a compensation table to assess how much compensation some injuries may be valued.
These latest Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) figures may vary and are used in this table for example purposes only. The JCG document lists a catalogue of injuries and illness with bracket figures calculated by using past settlements awards that have been settled in court.
Please note that the first entry in this table has not been taken from the JCG. The final two entries have also been taken from the whiplash tariff, which we explain about in the next section of this guide.
| Injury: | Compensation: | |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Very Serious Injuries with Special Damages | Very Serious | Up to £250,000+ |
| Deafness/Tinnitus | Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (i) | £36,260 to £55,570 |
| Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (ii) | £18,180 to £36,260 | |
| Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (iii) | £15,370 to £18,180 | |
| Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (iv) | Around £14,300 | |
| Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (v) | £8,890 to £15,370 | |
| Partial Hearing Loss and/or Tinnitus (vi) | Up to £8,560 | |
| 1+ Whiplash Injuries with 1+ Psychological injuries | Lasting 18-24 months | £4,345 |
| 1+ Whiplash Injuries | Lasting 18-24 months | £4,215 |
Tinnitus after a car accident compensation is typically split into general and special damages. The above table shows general damages from the JCG. However, the top row provides guidance on how compensation could be awarded for multiple severe injuries and special damages. We’ve also included two whiplash tariffs from the Whiplash Injury Regulations in the last two rows. The table is for guidance only. The awarded bracket depends on how severe the injury is and how long it takes to heal.
General damages compensate for the injury itself and how it’s affected you physically and mentally. For example, you may have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder due to your injury.
Special damages compensate for the financial impact the injury’s had on you. However, you must provide evidence of the financial loss or it’ll be difficult to claim special damages.
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How Much Compensation For Whiplash And Tinnitus?
Your claim for ringing in your ears after a car accident may be impacted by the Whiplash Reform Programme. These changed how certain claims are made for road traffic accidents in England and Wales. They apply to those aged 18 or older who suffered injuries valued at £5,000 or less as a vehicle’s driver or passenger. Applicable injuries include whiplash and other soft tissue injuries as well as ear ringing after the accident.
Your whiplash injury will be valued in accordance with the tariff set out in the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021. Other injuries that are not covered by this tariff, such as tinnitus, will be valued in the traditional manner. We look at this in the next section.
If you would like to know how much compensation for whiplash and tinnitus you could receive, get in touch with an advisor from our team for a free claim valuation.
What Else Can A Tinnitus Compensation Claim Include?
Here are some examples of what special damages can compensate for:
- Loss of earnings – If you took time off work to heal from your injuries, you may have suffered a loss of earnings. An example of evidence you could provide to prove this is payslips from before and after your injury. The amount you were paid could then be compared to assess how much you lost.
- Care costs – When hiring a carer, you may have paid out of pocket for this. A carer may have helped you deal with general household chores, such as cooking and cleaning, or they may have physically cared for your injury. To prove this, you could provide bank statements showing how much you paid for the carer.
- Travel costs – If you had to travel to and from medical appointments, you may have paid out of your own money for this. An example of evidence to prove this could be bus or train tickets.
- Prescription medication – Did you pay for medication to treat your injuries? If so, you could provide prescriptions to prove how much it cost.
If your injury impacted you financially, you may be entitled to special damages. You can contact our team of advisers today to assess how much tinnitus after a car accident compensation you may be entitled to.
Can I Claim With A No Win No Fee Solicitor If My Ears Are Ringing After A Car Accident?
It is advisable when making a personal injury claim for compensation for tinnitus after a car accident to seek legal advice. Here at Legal Expert, our advisors can provide you with free advice in a no-obligation consultation where you can have your case evaluated for free, provided with an estimate of what you could be awarded should your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim be successful and also be connected with one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.
Cases that are taken on by our car accident solicitors are usually worked on, on a No Win No Fee basis. A popular type of arrangement like this is called a Conditional Fee Agreement CFA which is a contract entered into by you and the solicitor. This generally means your solicitor will start work on your case without needing an upfront fee, nor will any ongoing fees be needed for the service the solicitor provides.
Successful personal injury claims after a car accident will see the solicitor take a capped percentage of the compensation awarded as their success fee. All of this is explained in the regulations set out in the Conditional fee Agreements Order 2013.
To find out if you could claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor for ringing in your ears after a car accident, call our advisors now for free advice.
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Start Your Claim
Our team of advisers are available around the clock to offer 24/7 free legal advice and have a chat about your situation. They can assess how much tinnitus after a car accident compensation you may be able to claim.
After speaking to an adviser, you’re under no obligation to continue with our services. However, if you want to, an adviser can connect you to an expert personal injury solicitor if your claim is legitimate.
A personal injury solicitor can then explore No Win No Fee agreements with you and begin working on your tinnitus after a car accident compensation claim.
You can get in touch with our friendly team of advisers by:
- Calling them on 0800 073 8804 to receive free legal advice.
- Chat with an adviser via our live chat pop-up box for an instant reply.
- Fill in our online claims form to receive a response at your earliest convenience.
Read More On Claiming Compensation For Tinnitus And Whiplash
- How Much Compensation Can Be Claimed For a Fatal Accident or Wrongful Death? – If a loved one has passed due to someone’s negligence, our article looks at how you may be able to make a wrongful death claim.
- Ear Infections – If you think you may be suffering from an ear infection, this NHS guide holds useful information.
- Earache – Are you experiencing an earache? This NHS guide offers advice on how to deal with it.
We also have some other guides on car accident claims that you may find useful:
- Check out our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page on car accidents
- A guide to serious injury car accident claims
Thank you for reading our guide about tinnitus after a car accident compensation.