Ladies: To avoid ringing in your ears, you may want to reach for a cup of joe.

That’s the takeaway from a recent study that looked for links between caffeine intake in women and the incidence of tinnitus (tin-NIGHT-us), the name for ringing in the ears. The study followed women for 18 years.

Although the study doesn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship, it did show that women with higher levels of caffeine consumption were less likely to develop tinnitus than those who consumed fewer caffeinated beverages and foods.

The study didn’t just focus on coffee ingestion. It looked at other sources of caffeine, too, including soda, diet soda and tea. Chocolate candy, which can contain caffeine, was also included. In addition, the researchers examined subjects’ intake of soda, tea and coffee without caffeine. This helped them evaluate whether the beverages themselves were associated with tinnitus risk, or just the caffeine.

From the 18 years of data, the researchers found that about 8 percent of the 65,000 women developed the condition. Women who consumed 600 milligrams or more of caffeine daily had the lowest rates of tinnitus in the study. That equals about four cups of coffee.

The researchers don’t know how caffeine may affect tinnitus development, and did not study whether the stimulant stops tinnitus once it starts. Another question that remains unanswered: Does the same association exist for men?

Despite the lingering mysteries, the study provides valuable insight for future studies. More research on the relationship between tinnitus and caffeine is certainly warranted, as previous thinking has been that caffeine actually may cause tinnitus.

Perhaps tinnitus researchers need to take their time pondering the new data over a warm cup of coffee.