H73.003 ICD-10-CM Code: Acute myringitis, bilateral

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for H73.003 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on H73.003 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Coder workflow for H73.003

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code H73.003

1. Laterality is coded in this family. Confirm the side documented — right, left, or bilateral — and select the matching code (this page’s code: bilateral). The unspecified-side code applies only when the record states no side. Laterality is assigned from the documented side; where a bilateral code exists and both sides are documented, it is used instead of two unilateral codes (Guidelines I.B.13).

   See the relationships section · Guide: Laterality coding →

2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with H73.003. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

   See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

1. Does the documentation support a condition named in H73.003’s Excludes1 note?
   Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
   No → Continue.

   ReviewH65, H66

2. Is the side documented?
   Yes → Select the code for the documented side (or the bilateral code when both sides are documented and one exists).
   No → Use the unspecified-side code only when the record states no side; a query is the alternative.

Consider H73.003. Then confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement

Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).

Laterality

Right, left or bilateral as documented; unspecified only when the record states no side (Guidelines I.B.13).

Acuity

Acute or chronic as documented; when both are documented and separate codes exist, both are reported with the acute code first (Guidelines I.B.8).

Official instructions as workflow

• Excludes1 — check before selecting H73.003(1 note)

  Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with H73.003: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

  CompareH65, H66

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.a

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Official Coding Guidelines

No excerpt in the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines names this code specifically. Its chapter carries only this chapter-wide note:

Don’t confuse H73.003 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of H73.003 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

• H65— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of acute myringitis with otitis media moves the case to H65; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: H73.003 vs H65 →

• H66— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of acute myringitis with otitis media moves the case to H66; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: H73.003 vs H66 →

• H73.009— Specificity relationship (Review)

  Overlapping diagnoses in the same category.

  Overlapping codes in the same category — the documentation decides which is the more specific fit.

  What moves you there: A record that documents no more than “Acute myringitis, unspecified ear” takes H73.009; specificity in the record moves it back here.

  Full comparison: H73.003 vs H73.009 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Verify Before Coding

• No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 2 MS-DRGs: DRG 152 (MDC 03), DRG 153 (MDC 03).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):EAR002 — Diseases of middle ear and mastoid (except otitis media) (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Diseases of middle ear and mastoid (except otitis media)).

H72.821 — Total perforations of tympanic membrane, right ear, H72.822 — Total perforations of tympanic membrane, left ear, H72.823 — Total perforations of tympanic membrane, bilateral, H72.829 — Total perforations of tympanic membrane, unspecified ear, H72.90 — Unspecified perforation of tympanic membrane, unspecified ear, H72.91 — Unspecified perforation of tympanic membrane, right ear, H72.92 — Unspecified perforation of tympanic membrane, left ear, H72.93 — Unspecified perforation of tympanic membrane, bilateral, H73.001 — Acute myringitis, right ear, H73.002 — Acute myringitis, left ear, H73.009 — Acute myringitis, unspecified ear, H73.011 — Bullous myringitis, right ear, H73.012 — Bullous myringitis, left ear, H73.013 — Bullous myringitis, bilateral, H73.019 — Bullous myringitis, unspecified ear, H73.091 — Other acute myringitis, right ear, H73.092 — Other acute myringitis, left ear, H73.093 — Other acute myringitis, bilateral, H73.099 — Other acute myringitis, unspecified ear, H73.10 — Chronic myringitis, unspecified ear, +204 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of H73.003 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Hierarchy

• H60-H95 — Chapter 8: Diseases of the Ear and Mastoid Process (H60-H95) (H60-H95)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H65-H75 — Diseases of middle ear and mastoid[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026

Clinical classification (CCSR)

• EAR002 — Diseases of middle ear and mastoid (except otitis media)[CCSR]— AHRQ CCSR for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses (HCUP)

MS-DRG Grouper

• DRG 152 — OTITIS MEDIA AND URI WITH MCC[MS-DRG]: “OTITIS MEDIA AND URI WITH MCC (MDC 03)”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix B) · FY2026
• DRG 153 — OTITIS MEDIA AND URI WITHOUT MCC[MS-DRG]: “OTITIS MEDIA AND URI WITHOUT MCC (MDC 03)”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix B) · FY2026

MDC crossing

• MDC 03 — Diseases and Disorders of the Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Ear, Nose, Mouth and Throat — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 5,147 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Nearest codes (40)

• H73 — Other disorders of tympanic membrane[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.0 — Acute myringitis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.00 — Unspecified acute myringitis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.001 — Acute myringitis, right ear[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.002 — Acute myringitis, left ear[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.009 — Acute myringitis, unspecified ear[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.01 — Bullous myringitis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H73.011 — Bullous myringitis, right ear[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• and 32 more

Change history

• FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data

CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Coding guidelines Official source data

ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2026), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Claim edits Official source data

CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Inpatient payment groups Official source data

CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v43 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data

CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship

Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears

Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation

Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to H73.003 in its code family, with their registry titles.

• H73 — Other disorders of tympanic membrane
• H73.0 — Acute myringitis
• H73.00 — Unspecified acute myringitis
• H73.001 — Acute myringitis, right ear
• H73.002 — Acute myringitis, left ear
• H73.009 — Acute myringitis, unspecified ear
• H73.01 — Bullous myringitis
• H73.011 — Bullous myringitis, right ear
• H73.012 — Bullous myringitis, left ear
• H73.013 — Bullous myringitis, bilateral

View all codes in the H73 family