2025 HCPCS code V5181
(Active) Effective Date: N/A Hearing Services - Hearing Aids Vision, Hearing and Speech Services Feed
Hearing aid, contralateral routing device, monaural, behind the ear (BTE).
Modifiers may be applicable to further specify the circumstances of the service, such as LT (left side) or RT (right side).
Medical necessity is established by documentation of significant hearing loss in one ear and the clinical benefit expected from a contralateral routing hearing aid. The documentation should justify the use of a BTE device over other types of hearing aids based on the patient's individual needs.
An audiologist is responsible for evaluating the patient's hearing, determining the appropriateness of a contralateral routing hearing aid, fitting the device, and providing ongoing care and adjustments.
In simple words: This is a special type of hearing aid worn behind the ear on the side with better hearing. It picks up sound and sends it to the other side with poorer hearing. This helps people hear better, especially in noisy situations.
This code represents a monaural (one-sided) behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid with contralateral routing. It is typically used for individuals with single-sided deafness (SSD) or those with significant hearing loss in one ear and normal or near-normal hearing in the other.The device is worn on the better-hearing side and picks up sound, routing it to the ear with hearing loss.This improves sound localization and speech understanding in noisy environments.
Example 1: A patient with single-sided deafness (SSD) is fitted with a V5181 device to improve hearing and sound localization., A patient with profound hearing loss in one ear and mild loss in the other is fitted with a V5181 to improve speech understanding in noise., A patient with an existing hearing aid on one ear and single-sided deafness on the other receives a V5181 to create a CROS system.
Documentation should include audiological evaluation results, including pure-tone audiometry and speech testing, indicating the need for a contralateral routing hearing aid.The medical necessity for the device should be clearly documented, and the specific type of device (BTE) should be specified.
** It is important to ensure accurate coding by clearly documenting the type of hearing aid provided (monaural BTE with contralateral routing) to avoid confusion with traditional hearing aids or binaural systems.
- Specialties:Audiology, Otolaryngology
- Place of Service:Office, Outpatient Hospital, Other Place of Service