H90.A2 ICD-10-CM Code: Sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
Billing Status: NO. This is a clinician non-billable / parent hierarchy grouping in the ICD-10-CM system.
Coding at a Glance
- Tabular directives
- 6 Excludes1
Coding instructions
Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for H90.A2 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 H90.A2 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.
Excludes1 — Not Coded Here
Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
- deaf nonspeaking NEC (H91.3) Compare H90.A2 vs H91.3 →
- deafness NOS (H91.9-) Compare H90.A2 vs H91.9 →
- hearing loss NOS (H91.9-) Compare H90.A2 vs H91.9 →
- noise-induced hearing loss (H83.3-) Compare H90.A2 vs H83.3 →
- ototoxic hearing loss (H91.0-) Compare H90.A2 vs H91.0 →
- sudden (idiopathic) hearing loss (H91.2-) Compare H90.A2 vs H91.2 →
Source: inherited from H90
Coder workflow for H90.A2
MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record
Before you code H90.A2
- H90.A2 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).
See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →
- H90.A2’s title joins a condition with an associated condition or complication. Confirm each component is documented. Where the classification presumes the link through the “with” convention, only a provider statement that the conditions are unrelated defeats it. A combination code is assigned only when it fully identifies the documented conditions; a required second code for the stage, type or manifestation is still reported when the notes ask for it (Guidelines I.B.9, I.A.15).
- Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with H90.A2. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).
Choose the right path
- Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath H90.A2?
Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
No → H90.A2 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs. - Does the documentation support a condition named in H90.A2’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.
Consider H90.A2. 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).
- The associated condition or complication
- Whether the associated condition the title names is documented; the “with” convention presumes some links, and a provider statement that the conditions are unrelated defeats it (Guidelines I.A.15).
Official instructions as workflow
Excludes1 — check before selecting H90.A2(6 notes)
Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with H90.A2: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.
CompareH91.3, H91.9, H83.3, H91.0, H91.2
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
Documentation: Both the condition H90.A2 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.
Coding question: Can both codes be reported?
Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.
Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).
Documentation: Only one of the components this code’s title joins is documented.
Coding question: Is H90.A2 supported?
Path: Review the code for the documented component on its own.
Reason: A combination code is assigned only when it fully identifies the documented conditions; otherwise the documented component takes its own code (Guidelines I.B.9).
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.
Code Overview
MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.
Verify Before Coding
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
Other codes that name H90.A2 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.
Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: Q16 — Congenital malformations of ear causing impairment of hearing (via H90.-).
These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.
Referenced by 1 Code Also instruction: F80.4 — Speech and language development delay due to hearing loss (via H90.-).
These codes suggest coding this condition alongside when both are present.
Related Codes
Same Index main term, other category
The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main terms “Deafness”, “Loss”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.
H15.89 — Other disorders of sclera (substance of, vitreous), H53.12 — Transient visual loss (vision, visual, subjective, transient), H53.13 — Sudden visual loss (vision, visual, subjective, sudden), H54.3 — Unqualified visual loss, both eyes (vision, visual, both eyes), H54.60 — Unqualified visual loss, one eye, unspecified (vision, visual, one eye), H54.61 — Unqualified visual loss, right eye, normal vision left eye (vision, visual, one eye, right), H54.62 — Unqualified visual loss, left eye, normal vision right eye (vision, visual, one eye, left), H54.7 — Unspecified visual loss (vision, visual), H74.32 — Partial loss of ear ossicles (ossicles, ear), H83.3 — Noise effects on inner ear (noise-induced), H91.2 — Sudden idiopathic hearing loss (sudden), H91.3 — Deaf nonspeaking, not elsewhere classified (nonspeaking), H91.9 — Unspecified hearing loss, H93.01 — Transient ischemic deafness (transient ischemic), H93.25 — Central auditory processing disorder (word), K06.3 — Horizontal alveolar bone loss (substance of, bone, horizontal alveolar), M26.37 — Excessive interocclusal distance of fully erupted teeth (occlusal vertical dimension of fully erupted teeth), N96 — Recurrent pregnancy loss (pregnancy, recurrent), O26.2 — Pregnancy care for patient with recurrent pregnancy loss (pregnancy, recurrent, care in current pregnancy), Q78.0 — Osteogenesis imperfecta (with blue sclera and fragility of bone), +19 more
Contextual Map
Every relationship of H90.A2 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.
Run H90.A2 with these 2 related codes in Claim Check
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
- H90-H94 — Other disorders of ear[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
Referenced by Excludes1 notes
- Q16 — Congenital malformations of ear causing impairment of hearing[Excludes1](via H90.-): “congenital deafness (H90.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
Referenced by Code Also instructions
- F80.4 — Speech and language development delay due to hearing loss[Code Also](via H90.-): “type of hearing loss (H90.-, H91.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
Nearest codes (25)
- H90 — Conductive and sensorineural hearing loss[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.0 — Conductive hearing loss, bilateral[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.1 — Conductive hearing loss, unilateral with unrestricted hearing on the contralateral side[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.11 — Conductive hearing loss, unilateral, right ear, with unrestricted hearing on the contralateral side[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.12 — Conductive hearing loss, unilateral, left ear, with unrestricted hearing on the contralateral side[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.2 — Conductive hearing loss, unspecified[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.3 — Sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- H90.4 — Sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral with unrestricted hearing on the contralateral side[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
- and 17 more
Change history
- FY2017 — Added to the code set[Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2017
Common coding questions
Can H90.A2 be billed directly?
No. H90.A2 (Sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, with restricted hearing on the contralateral side) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code. A more specific billable subcode must be selected based on clinical documentation.
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
- Claim edits Official source data
- CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) 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
Cite this page
Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.
MedCoder.ai. "H90.A2 — Sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, with restricted hearing on the contralateral side." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/h90.a2-sensorineural-hearing-loss-unilateral-with-restricted-hearing-on-the-contralateral-side
Change history
- FY2017 — October 1, 2016Added to the code setSensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, with restricted hearing on the contralateral sideFY2017 changes
Nearest Codes in This Family
Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to H90.A2 in its code family, with their registry titles.
- H90.8 — Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, unspecified
- H90.A — Conductive and sensorineural hearing loss with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A1 — Conductive hearing loss, unilateral, with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A11 — Conductive hearing loss, unilateral, right ear with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A12 — Conductive hearing loss, unilateral, left ear with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A21 — Sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, right ear, with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A22 — Sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, left ear, with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A3 — Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A31 — Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, right ear with restricted hearing on the contralateral side
- H90.A32 — Mixed conductive and sensorineural hearing loss, unilateral, left ear with restricted hearing on the contralateral side