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H65.3 vs H74.1

H65.3 (Chronic mucoid otitis media) compared with H74.1 (Adhesive middle ear disease), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.

Can these codes be reported together?

No — do not report together. H65.3 carries an Excludes1 note covering H74.1: “adhesive middle ear disease (H74.1)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

No — do not report together. H74.1 carries an Excludes1 note covering H65.3: “glue ear (H65.3-)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Side by side

H65.3Chronic mucoid otitis mediaH74.1Adhesive middle ear disease
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: H65.30, H65.31, H65.32, H65.33

Non-billable header

Report instead: H74.11, H74.12, H74.13, H74.19

ClassificationH60-H95 — Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process (H60-H95)H60-H95 — Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process (H60-H95)
DefinitionChronic mucoid otitis media is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (H65.3).Adhesive middle ear disease is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (H74.1).
Includes
nonsuppurative otitis media with myringitis
Chronic mucinous otitis media
Chronic secretory otitis media
Chronic transudative otitis media
Adhesive otitis
Use additional code
code for any associated perforated tympanic membrane (H72.-)
code, if applicable, to identify:
exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22)

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources