Tinnitus ICD-10-CM Codes | 2023
Read this short guide to learn about Tinnitus ICD codes you can use!
Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.
What Tinnitus ICD-10 codes can I use?
If you’re looking for Tinnitus ICD codes, there are nine codes you can pick from.
The basic ICD code you want to use for regular Tinnitus is H93.19 - Tinnitus, unspecified ear. This is meant to be used on patients confirmed to have tinnitus.
It comes with an unspecified label, though. This code means that the affected ear hasn’t been identified. Once you’ve identified the affected ear(s), you must use a more specific ICD-10 code. Here are your choices:
- For the right ear: H93.11 - Tinnitus, right ear
- For the left ear: H93.12 - Tinnitus, left ear
- For both ears: H93.13 - Tinnitus, bilateral
There are also Pulsatile Tinnitus ICD-10 codes. Pulsatile Tinnitus is rare and happens when blood rushes through your neck's arteries and veins.
If you’re handling patients with this kind of Tinnitus, the basic ICD-10 code is H93.A9 - Pulsatile tinnitus, unspecified ear. Once you determine the specific affected ear(s), you must use any of these instead:
- For the right ear: H93.A1 - Pulsatile tinnitus, right ear
- For the left ear: H93.A2 - Pulsatile tinnitus, left ear
- For both ears: H93.A3 - Pulsatile tinnitus, bilateral
There’s also Z83.52 - Family history of ear disorders, which is meant to be used on patients confirmed to have a family history of ear disorders. Tinnitus applies to this code. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the patients have Tinnitus, though.
This code is not valid as a principal diagnosis because it’s just meant to explain a patient's health status.
Are these Tinnitus ICD-10 codes billable?
Yes. All of the aforementioned ICD-10 codes for Tinnitus are valid and billable.
Clinical information about Tinnitus:
Tinnitus is the term used when referring to the sharp ringing, hissing, buzzing, or beeping sound in the ears even when there are no sources for such sounds to be heard.
These sounds can sometimes be mild and soft. In such cases, the person won’t hear it; if they do, the sound doesn’t bother them.
Sometimes, Tinnitus can be loud to the point that the person can’t hear external sounds with the affected ear, or, at the very least, the external sounds are weak or muffled due to the loudness.
Tinnitus can be described as subjective or objective.
Subjective Tinnitus means that the person with it can only hear the sounds. It’s also the most common kind. This is caused by problems related to the ear, such as listening to music on max volume for several minutes or hours, being exposed to loud sounds like explosions, inner ear damage, and earwax blockage, to mention a few.
Objective Tinnitus means that others can hear the sound if special equipment is used (like stethoscopes). This is a rare type of Tinnitus caused by problems related to blood vessels and muscle contractions. Pulsatile Tinnitus is an objective type of Tinnitus since it’s caused by the rush of blood in the neck’s arteries and veins.
Synonyms include:
- Buzzing in ear
- Clicking tinnitus
- Hissing in ear
- Leudet's tinnitus
- Nervous tinnitus
- Noise-induced tinnitus
- Noises in ear
- Non-vibratory tinnitus
- Objective pulsatile tinnitus
- Objective tinnitus
- Ringing in ear
- Vibratory tinnitus
- Objective pulsatile tinnitus
- Subjective pulsatile tinnitus
- Tinnitus ICD 10
- ICD 10 tinnitus
- ICD 10 code for tinnitus
- Pulsatile tinnitus ICD 10
- ICD 10 code for tinnitus bilateral
Commonly asked questions
Quite common. It affects millions worldwide and can be caused by something as simple as standing next to giant speakers during a concert.
That depends on the cause. It should be temporary if caused by a loud noise, earwax blockage, or an ear infection. If a person has Meniere’s Disease (characterized by vertigo and hearing loss), the Tinnitus might last long or lead to hearing loss.
Avoid loud noises. Using earplugs in places with loud noises should help prevent Tinnitus, especially if it’s somewhere like a construction site or a music store.
If the patient loves music, advise them to listen to music through speakers with a reasonable volume. If they use earphones or headphones, advise them to listen to music in low volumes to prevent Tinnitus and hearing damage.
