diff --git a/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts b/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts
index 801da30a..345b9153 100644
--- a/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts
+++ b/addons/xterm-addon-search/src/SearchAddon.ts
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ export class SearchAddon implements ITerminalAddon {
     this._onResizeDisposable?.dispose();
   }
 
-  public clearDecorations(internal?: boolean): void {
+  public clearDecorations(retainCachedSearchTerm?: boolean): void {
     this._selectedDecoration?.dispose();
     this._searchResults?.clear();
     this._resultDecorations?.forEach(decorations => {
@@ -110,11 +110,7 @@ export class SearchAddon implements ITerminalAddon {
     this._resultDecorations?.clear();
     this._searchResults = undefined;
     this._resultDecorations = undefined;
-    if (!internal) {
-      // we want to keep _cachedSearchTerm defined if this is
-      // an internal call
-      // so that when the buffer changes,
-      // we can use that to search for new matches
+    if (!retainCachedSearchTerm) {
       this._cachedSearchTerm = undefined;
     }
   }