2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code H53.8Other visual disturbances

ICD-10-CM Codes›H00–H59›H53-H54›H53

ICD-10-CM H53.8
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

H53.8 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for other visual disturbances. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and groups to MS-DRG 124 through 125. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Blindness and vision defects.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
H53.8
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Other visual disturbances
Short Description
Other visual disturbances
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
H53
Visual disturbances

Code Classification

ChapterH00–H59Diseases of the eye and adnexa
SectionH53-H54Visual disturbances and blindness
CategoryH53Visual disturbances
This CodeH53.8Other visual disturbances

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Abnormal response to visual stimuli
  • Absent response to visual stimuli
  • Accommodation phosphene
  • After image
  • Afterimage
  • Alcoholic amblyopia
  • Blurring of visual image
  • Bradyopsia
  • Chromatic aberration of vision
  • Clarity of visual image - finding
  • Coma wavefront aberration
  • Conjugated visual deviation
  • Curtain across vision
  • Delayed visual maturation
  • Difficulty seeing close objects
  • Difficulty seeing distant objects
  • Diplopia
  • Dysfunction of visual motion detection
  • Dysphotopsia
  • Eccentric viewing
  • Entoptic phenomenon
  • Eyes sensitive to light
  • Fading of visual image
  • Finding of response to visual stimuli
  • Finding related to focusing
  • General reaction to light - finding
  • Haidinger brushes
  • Hazy vision
  • Higher-order aberration of vision
  • Higher-order wavefront aberration
  • Holds objects close
  • Left eye perceives light only
  • Lower-order aberration of vision
  • Lower-order wavefront aberration
  • Misjudges distances
  • Monocular diplopia
  • Monovision
  • Multiple visual images
  • Negative dysphotopsia
  • Nutritional amblyopia
  • Ocular accommodation - finding
  • Pain in eye
  • Palinopsia
  • Perceives light only
  • Phosphene
  • Photophobia
  • Poor visual acuity
  • Positive dysphotopsia
  • Quadrafoil wavefront aberration
  • Quality of visual image - finding
  • Refraction measurement - finding
  • Refractive polyopia
  • Refractive power - finding
  • Right eye perceives light only
  • Scotopic sensitivity
  • Slow to focus
  • Speed of focus - finding
  • Spherical aberration of vision
  • Staring at diffuse light source
  • Superimposition
  • Temporal crescent syndrome
  • Tobacco amblyopia
  • Toxic amblyopia
  • Toxic optic neuropathy
  • Transient blurring of vision
  • Transient blurring of vision of one eye
  • Trefoil wavefront aberration
  • Visual acuity PL - inaccurate projection
  • Visual behavior - finding
  • Visual image fades and reappears
  • Visual image lingers
  • Visual obscuration
  • Visual snow syndrome
  • Wavefront aberration

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

External Cause of Injuries IndexGuidance

References for this code in the External Cause of Injuries Index.

    • Amblyopia(congenital) (ex anopsia) (partial) (suppression)
      • tobacco
    • Amblyopia(congenital) (ex anopsia) (partial) (suppression)
      • toxic NEC
    • Blurring, visual
    • Disturbance(s)
      • vision, visual
        • specified NEC
    • Polyopia
    • Syndrome
      • visual disorientation
    • Vision, visual
      • blurred, blurring
    • Vision, visual
      • disorientation (syndrome)

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR EYE010
Blindness and vision defects
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Diplopia

    a visual symptom in which a single object is perceived by the visual cortex as two objects rather than one. disorders associated with this condition include refractive errors; strabismus; oculomotor nerve diseases; trochlear nerve diseases; abducens nerve diseases; and diseases of the brain stem and occipital lobe.

  • Toxic Optic Neuropathy

    damage to the eye or its function (e.g., visual impairment) due to optic nerve damage secondary to toxic substances such as drugs used in chemotherapy; immunotherapy; or radiation.

  • Photophobia

    abnormal sensitivity to light. this may occur as a manifestation of eye diseases; migraine; subarachnoid hemorrhage; meningitis; and other disorders. photophobia may also occur in association with depression and other mental disorders.

  • Afterimage

    continuation of visual impression after cessation of stimuli causing the original image.

  • Toxic Amblyopia

    amblyopia due to exposure to a toxin.

  • Monocular Diplopia

    perception of more than one image when viewing with one eye.

Patient EducationClinical

Vision Impairment and Blindness

Vision impairment is the loss of vision. It includes blindness, which means that you have lost all or most of your sight. It also includes low vision, which means you have some vision, but the vision loss makes it hard to do everyday activities. You may have trouble reading, shopping, cooking, writing, and watching TV.

The full article covers:

  • What is vision impairment?
  • What causes vision impairment?
  • How is vision impairment diagnosed?
  • What are the types of low vision?
  • What are the treatments for low vision?
  • How can I make the most of my remaining sight?
  • Can vision impairment be prevented?

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert H53.8 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
368.8 Visual disturbances NEC
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2025No changes
FY 2026CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Questions About H53.8Overview

Is H53.8 (Visual disturbances) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report other visual disturbances on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What MS-DRG does H53.8 group to?

When other visual disturbances is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 124, 125, with relative weights from 0.7678 to 1.3231 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of H53.8?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, other visual disturbances converts to ICD-9-CM 368.8 (visual disturbances NEC). The mapping is approximate, so confirm the match fits the documentation.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.