H72 — Perforation of tympanic membrane

Not billable

Is H72 billable?

No — H72 is a non-billable header code. H72 groups more specific codes and cannot be submitted on a claim. A valid ICD-10-CM code must be reported at the highest level of specificity available in its branch. Select one of the 24 billable codes beneath H72.

Billable codes under this header

H72 at a glance

Code	H72
Description	Perforation of tympanic membrane
Billable	No — header code
Code set	ICD-10-CM FY2027
Valid for encounters	October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027

Excludes1 — never code together

The conditions below can never be reported together with H72 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.

acute suppurative otitis media with rupture of the tympanic membrane (H66.01-)
traumatic rupture of ear drum (S09.2-)

Code first

The underlying condition below must be sequenced before H72. H72 describes a manifestation and cannot be the principal or first-listed diagnosis.

any associated otitis media (H65.-, H66.1-, H66.2-, H66.3-, H66.4-, H66.9-, H67.-)

Includes

Conditions classified to H72.

persistent post-traumatic perforation of ear drum
postinflammatory perforation of ear drum

Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 8

The conditions below are not part of H72, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, H72 and the excluded code may both be reported.

certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
neoplasms (C00-D49)
symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

What codes fall under H72? (5)

How long has H72 existed?

H72 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.

Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.