Hearing Loss and Tinnitus ICD-10-CM Codes, FY 2027

Tinnitus ICD-10 codes: H93.1 and pulsatile tinnitus (H93.A)

In the FY 2027 CMS file, category H93.1 carries the one-word title "Tinnitus" and is a header row. Four codes under it are valid on a claim, one for each ear pattern: H93.11 "Tinnitus, right ear", H93.12 "Tinnitus, left ear", H93.13 "Tinnitus, bilateral" and H93.19 "Tinnitus, unspecified ear".

Pulsatile tinnitus has a subcategory of its own, H93.A, also a header. Its four valid codes follow the same order: H93.A1 for the right ear, H93.A2 for the left ear, H93.A3 for both ears and H93.A9 when the ear is unspecified. The table above lists both families with the titles exactly as CMS prints them.

The file holds codes and titles, nothing more. Which code belongs on a given record is decided by the coder from the clinician's notes, under the official guidelines; this page lists what the classification says and where it is used.

Hearing loss ICD-10 codes: H90 and H91

Hearing loss is spread across two categories. H90, "Conductive and sensorineural hearing loss", sorts its codes by type (conductive, sensorineural or mixed) and by ear, then adds subcategory H90.A for one-sided loss "with restricted hearing on the contralateral side". It holds 18 codes valid on a claim. Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, for instance, is H90.3, titled "Sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral".

H91, "Other and unspecified hearing loss", holds 21 valid codes in six groups: ototoxic hearing loss (H91.0), presbycusis (H91.1), sudden idiopathic hearing loss (H91.2), H91.3 "Deaf nonspeaking, not elsewhere classified", other specified hearing loss (H91.8) and unspecified hearing loss (H91.9). Every group except H91.3 splits by ear; H91.3 is valid on its own.

The titles are names in a classification, not explanations. For what a hearing test costs, the hearing test cost page has the figures; for devices, see hearing aids cost.

Which rows go on a claim, and which are headers

The ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for FY 2027 set the rule in two sentences: "For reporting purposes only codes are permissible, not categories or subcategories" and "A code is invalid if it has not been coded to the full number of characters required for that code". The CMS order file applies it row by row with a flag. Of the 64 rows for H90, H91, H93.1 and H93.A, 47 are marked valid for submission and 17 are headers, among them H90, H91, H93.1 and H93.A themselves.

The H91.8 group shows the placeholder character. Its codes read H91.8X1, H91.8X2, H91.8X3 and H91.8X9, and the guidelines say the X "is used as a placeholder at certain codes to allow for future expansion". Stopping at H91.8, or at H91.8X, leaves a header on the claim instead of a code.

What changed on October 1, 2026

CMS says to use the FY 2027 files "for discharges occurring from October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 and for patient encounters occurring from October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027." Its announcement reads: "CDC announces new ICD-10-CM codes effective October 1, 2026."

None of the new codes falls in H90, H91, H93.1 or H93.A. We compared the 64 rows of the April 1, 2026 file, which CMS set for use until September 30, 2026, with the FY 2027 file: code, title and claim flag match on every row, for a count of 0 changes. The FY 2027 addenda, the CMS list of added, deleted and revised codes, has 0 lines for these rows. A code that was valid on a claim before October 1, 2026 is still valid, under the same title.

The code set binds more than Medicare: "ICD-10 applies to all parties covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)". The older ICD-9 codes belong to past claims: "On October 1, 2015, the health care industry transitioned from ICD-9 to ICD-10 codes for diagnoses and inpatient procedures."

How the ICD-10 code pairs with 92557 and V5 hearing aid codes

A claim answers two questions with two kinds of code. The HIPAA code-set rule, 45 CFR 162.1002, names ICD-10-CM "for the following conditions: (i) Diseases. (ii) Injuries. (iii) Impairments." For services it names HCPCS together with CPT, in a list that includes "(vi) Hearing and vision services." For devices it names HCPCS "for all other substances, equipment, supplies, or other items used in health care services, with the exception of drugs and biologics."

So the ICD-10-CM code says why, and the service or device code says what. A hearing test line carries a code such as 92557, for which Medicare's 2026 national office amount is $35.74; the hearing test cost page gives the other audiology codes, and whether Medicare covers a hearing test sets out when Part B pays. A hearing aid line carries a HCPCS code in the V5 range, such as V5261, "Hearing aid, digital, binaural, bte"; what payers paid per code is on the hearing aid cost page.

Payers add rules of their own. Coverage comes from each payer's rules, not from the code on the line; for Original Medicare, see does Medicare cover hearing aids.