diff --git a/src/intel/vulkan/anv_batch_chain.c b/src/intel/vulkan/anv_batch_chain.c
index 4117481006c..bb986847a08 100644
--- a/src/intel/vulkan/anv_batch_chain.c
+++ b/src/intel/vulkan/anv_batch_chain.c
@@ -1394,8 +1394,6 @@ anv_queue_submit_sparse_bind_locked(struct anv_queue *queue,
       return vk_queue_set_lost(&queue->vk, "Sparse binding not supported");
    }
 
-   device->using_sparse = true;
-
    assert(submit->command_buffer_count == 0);
 
    if (INTEL_DEBUG(DEBUG_SPARSE)) {
diff --git a/src/intel/vulkan/anv_private.h b/src/intel/vulkan/anv_private.h
index 641330f11c4..049c2edfd3c 100644
--- a/src/intel/vulkan/anv_private.h
+++ b/src/intel/vulkan/anv_private.h
@@ -1968,13 +1968,13 @@ struct anv_device {
        struct list_head in_flight_batches;
     } trtt;
 
-    /* This is true if the user ever bound a sparse resource to memory. This
-     * is used for a workaround that makes every memoryBarrier flush more
-     * things than it should. Many applications request for the sparse
-     * featuers to be enabled but don't use them, and some create sparse
-     * resources but never use them.
+    /* Number of sparse resources that currently exist. This is used for a
+     * workaround that makes every memoryBarrier flush more things than it
+     * should. Some workloads create and then immediately destroy sparse
+     * resources when they start, so just counting if a sparse resource was
+     * ever created is not enough.
      */
-    bool                                         using_sparse;
+    uint32_t num_sparse_resources;
 
     struct anv_device_astc_emu                   astc_emu;
 
diff --git a/src/intel/vulkan/anv_sparse.c b/src/intel/vulkan/anv_sparse.c
index 1bd403cee0c..a4fa29462f4 100644
--- a/src/intel/vulkan/anv_sparse.c
+++ b/src/intel/vulkan/anv_sparse.c
@@ -654,6 +654,7 @@ anv_init_sparse_bindings(struct anv_device *device,
       return res;
    }
 
+   p_atomic_inc(&device->num_sparse_resources);
    return VK_SUCCESS;
 }
 
@@ -667,6 +668,8 @@ anv_free_sparse_bindings(struct anv_device *device,
    sparse_debug("%s: address:0x%016"PRIx64" size:0x%08"PRIx64"\n",
                 __func__, sparse->address, sparse->size);
 
+   p_atomic_dec(&device->num_sparse_resources);
+
    struct anv_vm_bind unbind = {
       .bo = 0,
       .address = sparse->address,
diff --git a/src/intel/vulkan/genX_cmd_buffer.c b/src/intel/vulkan/genX_cmd_buffer.c
index ca5ad262a30..eed57513cf9 100644
--- a/src/intel/vulkan/genX_cmd_buffer.c
+++ b/src/intel/vulkan/genX_cmd_buffer.c
@@ -3939,7 +3939,8 @@ cmd_buffer_barrier(struct anv_cmd_buffer *cmd_buffer,
       /* There's no way of knowing if this memory barrier is related to sparse
        * buffers! This is pretty horrible.
        */
-      if (device->using_sparse && mask_is_write(src_flags))
+      if (mask_is_write(src_flags) &&
+          p_atomic_read(&device->num_sparse_resources) > 0)
          apply_sparse_flushes = true;
    }