# Diagnosis for Audiology testing



## michelle417 (Feb 16, 2011)

Can an audiologist bill a problem diagnosis for a hearing test when there is an established problem diagnosis to use?  The audiologist states he can only bill V72.19 for hearing tests.


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## jthweatt (Feb 18, 2011)

Was no hearing loss discovered?


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## Allison McCoy (Apr 27, 2011)

According to the American Academy of Audiology and ASHA, you can bill for the type of hearing loss that was suspected if you don't find any hearing loss.  In our Audiology practice, we also find the codes 388.40 Abnormal Auditory Perception (where the patient thinks they can't hear) or 388.43 Impairment of Auditory Discrimination (where the patient thinks they can hear but they can't understand) very useful.


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## Candice_Fenildo (May 4, 2011)

Very good response Allison. Our practice follows the same directive from ASHA.


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## Lisapurple216 (May 20, 2014)

I realize this is an old thread but it recently has been an issue in our office.  My audiologist also go by the ASHA website and argue they can use 389.9 when the results are normal and there are no other signs or symptoms. They don't feel that by using this diagnosis they have just diagnosed the person with hearing loss. Am I misunderstanding the meaning of this code.  If you use unspecified hearing loss as a diagnosis, you just said the person has heaing loss.  I feel this is contrary to everything I've ever been taught about coding. Can someone please explain the rational behind this to me?


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## cimnim (Oct 9, 2015)

*so helpful*



Allison McCoy said:


> According to the American Academy of Audiology and ASHA, you can bill for the type of hearing loss that was suspected if you don't find any hearing loss.  In our Audiology practice, we also find the codes 388.40 Abnormal Auditory Perception (where the patient thinks they can't hear) or 388.43 Impairment of Auditory Discrimination (where the patient thinks they can hear but they can't understand) very useful.



Thanks, this answer was so very helpful. I was trying to find an acceptable dx code for a patient where they are trying to rule out hearing impairment but the patient hasn't been diagnosed with hearing loss. This should point me in the right direction. will convert to equivalent ICD-10 code.


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## Coder2hear813 (Feb 4, 2016)

*Asha documentation*

Can someone direct me as to where I find the official ASHA guidance on  billing for the type of hearing loss that was suspected if you don't find any hearing loss? thank you


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