2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R44.0Auditory hallucinations
ICD-10-CM Codes›R00–R99›R40-R46›R44
- Billable — Valid for Submission
- CC — Complication or Comorbidity
- Not Chronic
R44.0 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for auditory hallucinations. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027) and groups to MS-DRG 880. As a secondary diagnosis, it counts as a complication or comorbidity (CC) and moves an inpatient stay to a higher severity level within its MS-DRG family. It does not count, however, when the principal diagnosis is one of 43 closely related codes. As a symptom code, it should not be used as a principal diagnosis once a related definitive diagnosis has been established. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under General sensation/perception signs and symptoms.
Code Identity
Code Classification
Approximate SynonymsGuidance
Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.
- Auditory hallucinations
- Auditory hallucinations with visual hallucinations
- Command hallucination
- Dissociative auditory hallucinations
- Dissociative hallucinations
- Hallucinations of music
- Hallucinations of simple sounds
- Hears mocking voices
- Hears voices laughing at self
- Non-verbal auditory hallucinations
- Second person verbal auditory hallucinations
- Third person verbal auditory hallucinations
- Thought echo
- Verbal auditory hallucinations
- Visual hallucinations
Instructional NotesGuidance
Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to R44.0: its own notes plus those printed at R44, block R40-R46, and Chapter 18. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.
Excludes1
Not coded here: the excluded code is never reported together with this one, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
Excludes2
Not included here: the excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient may have both, so both codes may be reported.
- disturbances of skin sensation (R20.-)
Notes
General instructions on how these codes are used.
- This chapter includes symptoms, signs, abnormal results of clinical or other investigative procedures, and ill-defined conditions regarding which no diagnosis classifiable elsewhere is recorded.
- Signs and symptoms that point rather definitely to a given diagnosis have been assigned to a category in other chapters of the classification. In general, categories in this chapter include the less well-defined conditions and symptoms that, without the necessary study of the case to establish a final diagnosis, point perhaps equally to two or more diseases or to two or more systems of the body. Practically all categories in the chapter could be designated 'not otherwise specified', 'unknown etiology' or 'transient'. The Alphabetical Index should be consulted to determine which symptoms and signs are to be allocated here and which to other chapters. The residual subcategories, numbered .8, are generally provided for other relevant symptoms that cannot be allocated elsewhere in the classification.
- The conditions and signs or symptoms included in categories R00-R94 consist of:
- (a) cases for which no more specific diagnosis can be made even after all the facts bearing on the case have been investigated;
- (b) signs or symptoms existing at the time of initial encounter that proved to be transient and whose causes could not be determined;
- (c) provisional diagnosis in a patient who failed to return for further investigation or care;
- (d) cases referred elsewhere for investigation or treatment before the diagnosis was made;
- (e) cases in which a more precise diagnosis was not available for any other reason;
- (f) certain symptoms, for which supplementary information is provided, that represent important problems in medical care in their own right.
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.
Referenced in Other NotesGuidance
Instructional notes printed at other codes that name R44.0, its category, or a range that includes it.
Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance
Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.
auditory R44.0
Clinical ClassificationClinical
AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.
Patient EducationClinical
Psychotic Disorders
Psychotic disorders are severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions. People with psychoses lose touch with reality. Two of the main symptoms are delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are false beliefs, such as thinking that someone is plotting against you or that the TV is sending you secret messages.
Read the full article at MedlinePlus
Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Convert R44.0 to ICD-9-CMHistory
The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.
Code HistoryHistory
Questions About R44.0Overview
What is the ICD-10 code for auditory hallucinations?
The ICD-10-CM code for auditory hallucinations is R44.0 (sometimes written as R440). It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Is R44.0 a billable code?
Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report auditory hallucinations on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
What MS-DRG does R44.0 group to?
When auditory hallucinations is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 880 (acute Adjustment Reaction and Psychosocial Dysfunction), which carries a relative weight of 0.9306. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.
Is R44.0 a CC or MCC?
CMS lists R44.0 as a CC (complication or comorbidity) for FY 2027. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, it moves the inpatient stay to a higher-weighted DRG within its severity family. It does not count when the principal diagnosis is one of the 43 closely related codes in its exclusion list.
Can R44.0 be a principal diagnosis?
Use it with care. This is a symptom code, so once a definitive diagnosis explaining the auditory hallucinations is established, that condition takes the principal position instead.
