diff --git a/distributed/_signals.py b/distributed/_signals.py
index f25b7245c4..730e14d0fc 100644
--- a/distributed/_signals.py
+++ b/distributed/_signals.py
@@ -25,4 +25,8 @@ def handle_signal(signum, frame):
     for sig in signals:
         old_handlers[sig] = signal.signal(sig, handle_signal)
 
-    await event.wait()
+    try:
+        await event.wait()
+    finally:
+        for sig in signals:
+            signal.signal(sig, old_handlers[sig])
diff --git a/distributed/cli/tests/test_dask_scheduler.py b/distributed/cli/tests/test_dask_scheduler.py
index 1b01d1ad35..e6ea59867a 100644
--- a/distributed/cli/tests/test_dask_scheduler.py
+++ b/distributed/cli/tests/test_dask_scheduler.py
@@ -413,7 +413,7 @@ def test_version_option():
 
 
 @pytest.mark.slow
-def test_idle_timeout(loop):
+def test_idle_timeout():
     start = time()
     runner = CliRunner()
     result = runner.invoke(
@@ -424,6 +424,23 @@ def test_idle_timeout(loop):
     assert result.exit_code == 0
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
+def test_restores_signal_handler():
+    # another test could have altered the signal handler, so use a new function
+    # that both has sensible sigint behaviour *and* can be used as a sentinel
+    def raise_ki():
+        raise KeyboardInterrupt
+
+    original_handler = signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, raise_ki)
+    try:
+        CliRunner().invoke(
+            distributed.cli.dask_scheduler.main, ["--idle-timeout", "1s"]
+        )
+        assert signal.getsignal(signal.SIGINT) is raise_ki
+    finally:
+        signal.signal(signal.SIGINT, original_handler)
+
+
 def test_multiple_workers_2(loop):
     text = """
 def dask_setup(worker):