Ear Wax Removal Cost: What Medicare Sets and What Clinics Quote

How much does ear wax removal cost?

The nearest thing to a national reference is the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Its October 2026 file gives a professional amount to the two CPT codes for removing impacted wax, and the table above prints both. A third code, G0268, applies only when a physician removes wax the same day as a hearing test.

Code 69209 covers removal "using irrigation/lavage" and carries $17.03 in an office or other non-facility setting. Code 69210 covers removal "requiring instrumentation" and carries $47.76 in the same setting. CMS describes both codes as unilateral, meaning one ear. Its file also gives them the same short label, "Remove impacted ear wax uni", so on a statement the code number is what tells them apart.

The setting changes the figure. In a hospital or other facility, the professional amount for 69210 falls to $27.05, and the facility's own charge sits outside that number. For 69209, the facility column reads NA, so the file gives no facility amount to quote.

These figures are national, with Medicare's geographic adjusters set to 1, so a local Medicare amount can differ. Each one prices a single billing line for the professional's service. A visit can put other charges on the same bill, which is why neither number works as a visit price.

How much does microsuction cost?

Microsuction ear wax removal has no code of its own on the claim. Of the two wax removal codes on this page, 69209 is removal "using irrigation/lavage" and 69210 is removal "requiring instrumentation", and neither names microsuction. CMS's files assign microsuction to neither code; if a clinic bills 69210, the amounts are the ones above: $47.76 in an office and $27.05 for the professional in a facility on Medicare's October 2026 schedule, and a median hospital cash price of $179.40 across 55 hospitals in our sample, hospital charge only and not a quote.

That code is not specific to microsuction. It covers removal with instruments in general, so its amounts price the code, not one method, and a clinic's microsuction price list can differ from them. CMS describes the code as unilateral, meaning one ear. When a clinic quotes microsuction, ask which code it will bill, whether the price is for one ear or both, and whether a visit fee is added on top.

How much does ear wax removal cost without insurance?

Self-pay, the price is whatever the clinic quotes you, but hospital files give one public reference. In our sample, hospitals posted a median discounted cash price of $136.50 for code 69209 across 53 hospitals and $179.40 for code 69210 across 55 hospitals. That is the discounted cash price posted by the hospital under 45 CFR 180 (the charge that applies to an individual who pays cash), hospital charge only, as of the date in the hospital's file. It is not a quote and not what you will pay with insurance, and some files post package rates. Medicare's amounts set neither a floor nor a ceiling on a self-pay bill.

The useful step is to make two estimates comparable. Ask each clinic the same things. Is the price a flat fee, or is removal added on top of a visit fee? Does it cover one ear or both? If a return visit is needed, does that cost extra? Is an exam billed separately? Then compare the totals, not the headline numbers.

A low figure for one ear and a higher figure for both can turn out to be the same price, and a flat visit fee can beat a smaller removal fee once the visit is added. An estimate in writing settles those questions before you pay.

Urgent care ear wax removal cost

An urgent care bill depends on how the center charges for the visit and whether removal appears as its own line. The records we read hold no national urgent care price for wax removal, so the figure has to come from the center.

Some chains publish self-pay menus that group services into tiers. Finding wax removal on such a menu does not give you its price unless the chain confirms which tier and amount apply to it, so we print no figure from a menu here. Call the center and ask for the self-pay total for wax removal, including the visit.

Two more questions are worth asking. Is the center hospital-owned, and does it bill a separate facility charge? And is the quote for one ear or both? The first matters because, as the Medicare figures above show, the professional's amount changes in a facility setting and the facility's own charge sits outside it.

How much does ear wax removal cost at CVS?

CVS runs a dedicated ear wax removal page for MinuteClinic. Its pricing section reads "Most insurance accepted" and invites you to "estimate the cost of your visit". So the route to a CVS number is that estimate.

We print no CVS dollar figure for this service. A cash price shown on the same site for a different MinuteClinic service is not a price for this one, so treat the estimate as the only figure that answers the question. Keep it with the date you got it, since a clinic can change its prices.

How much does ear wax removal cost with insurance?

With insurance, your share depends on your plan's deductible, copay and coinsurance, and on the codes that reach the claim. The Medicare amounts above are schedule figures, not your share of a bill. Ask your plan what you would owe for 69209 or 69210, since those are the numbers it can look up.

One Medicare billing rule matters if wax removal happens around a hearing test. The 2026 NCCI policy manual, chapter XI, says: "Removal of cerumen by an audiologist before audiologic function testing is not separately reportable." That sentence covers that one encounter: an audiologist, before audiologic function testing, under Medicare's coding rules. It says nothing about a clinic visit with no hearing test or about what a private plan does.

If you see a separate wax removal line for that exact encounter on a Medicare statement, the billing office is the place to ask about it.

Does Medicare cover ear wax removal?

Medicare doesn't give a flat answer for wax removal; it depends on who removes the wax, why and how it is billed. When Part B pays for a covered service, Medicare's cost page puts your share at 20% of the cost after the yearly deductible, which is $283 in 2026. So a covered removal is not free under Original Medicare unless other coverage picks up that share.

On the October 2026 schedule, the professional amount Medicare sets is $17.03 for 69209 and $47.76 for 69210 in an office. G0268 is the third code: it applies when a physician removes impacted cerumen the same day as a hearing test. One local Medicare billing article in the Medicare Coverage Database says: "Payment for G0268 may be made to a physician whose skill is required to remove impacted cerumen". A local article states billing conditions for its own contractor area; it does not establish coverage everywhere.

Before the visit, ask the clinic which code it expects to bill and whether it takes Medicare assignment, then ask Medicare or your plan what your share of that code would be. If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan, Medicare's cost page lists its 2026 premiums, deductibles, copayments and coinsurance as "Varies by plan", so its answer can differ.