ICD-10 Diagnosis Code H61.20
Impacted cerumen, unspecified ear
Diagnosis Code H61.20
Short Description: Impacted cerumen, unspecified ear
Long Description: Impacted cerumen, unspecified ear
This is the 2019 version of the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code H61.20
Valid for Submission
The code H61.20 is valid for submission for HIPAA-covered transactions.
Code Classification
- Diseases of the ear and mastoid process (H60–H95)
Version 2019 Billable Code Questionable Admission Codes
Information for Medical Professionals
Code Edits
The following edits are applicable to this code:
Questionable admission codes - Some diagnoses are not usually sufficient justification for admission to an acute care hospital. For example, if a patient is given code R030 for elevated blood pressure reading, without diagnosis of hypertension, then the patient would have a questionable admission, since elevated blood pressure reading is not normally sufficient justification for admission to a hospital.
Diagnostic Related Groups
The diagnosis code H61.20 is grouped in the following Diagnostic Related Group(s) (MS-DRG V35.0)
- 154 - OTHER EAR, NOSE, MOUTH AND THROAT DIAGNOSES WITH MCC
- 155 - OTHER EAR, NOSE, MOUTH AND THROAT DIAGNOSES WITH CC
- 156 - OTHER EAR, NOSE, MOUTH AND THROAT DIAGNOSES WITHOUT CC/MCC
Convert to ICD-9
- 380.4 - Impacted cerumen (Approximate Flag)
Synonyms
- C/O - wax in ear
- Ear symptom
- Excessive cerumen in ear canal
- Impacted cerumen
- O/E - wax in auditory canal
- Wax in ear canal
Index to Diseases and Injuries
References found for the code H61.20 in the Index to Diseases and Injuries:
- - Ear - See Also: condition;
- - wax (impacted) - H61.20
Information for Patients
Ear Disorders
Your ear has three main parts: outer, middle and inner. You use all of them in hearing. Sound waves come in through your outer ear. They reach your middle ear, where they make your eardrum vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones, called ossicles, in your middle ear. The vibrations travel to your inner ear, a snail-shaped organ. The inner ear makes the nerve impulses that are sent to the brain. Your brain recognizes them as sounds. The inner ear also controls balance.
A variety of conditions may affect your hearing or balance:
- Ear infections are the most common illness in infants and young children.
- Tinnitus, a roaring in your ears, can be the result of loud noises, medicines or a variety of other causes.
- Meniere's disease may be the result of fluid problems in your inner ear; its symptoms include tinnitus and dizziness.
- Ear barotrauma is an injury to your ear because of changes in barometric (air) or water pressure.
Some ear disorders can result in hearing disorders and deafness.
- Aural polyps (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Benign ear cyst or tumor (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Ear discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Ear emergencies (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Ear examination (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Earache (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Eardrum repair (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Otosclerosis (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Ruptured eardrum (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Tympanometry (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Wax blockage (Medical Encyclopedia)
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ICD-10 Footnotes
General Equivalence Map Definitions
The ICD-10 and ICD-9 GEMs are used to facilitate linking between the diagnosis codes in ICD-9-CM and the new ICD-10-CM code set. The GEMs are the raw material from which providers, health information vendors and payers can derive specific applied mappings to meet their needs.
- Approximate Flag - The approximate flag is on, indicating that the relationship between the code in the source system and the code in the target system is an approximate equivalent.
- No Map Flag - The no map flag indicates that a code in the source system is not linked to any code in the target system.
- Combination Flag - The combination flag indicates that more than one code in the target system is required to satisfy the full equivalent meaning of a code in the source system.
Present on Admission
The Present on Admission (POA) indicator is used for diagnosis codes included in claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals. POA indicators must be reported to CMS on each claim to facilitate the grouping of diagnoses codes into the proper Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG). CMS publishes a listing of specific diagnosis codes that are exempt from the POA reporting requirement.