Ear irrigation cost in San Francisco, CA
In San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 16 hospitals list a cash price for earwax removal by irrigation (rinsing), one ear: from $64.74 to $419.00, with a median of $177.52. The lowest listed price is at St. Rose Hospital — $112.78 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $177.52 at 140 hospitals.
- The median here, $177.52, is 68% above the US median of $105.95.
- That is 2.9× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($60.27).
- San Francisco, CA ranks 2nd of 4 metro areas in California by median, cheapest first.
- 3 of 16 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 16 facilities across 13 cities for code 69209, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Oct 31, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Feb 23, 2026 and Jul 22, 2026.
Where each hospital's price falls
Each dot is one hospital's cash price on a scale from the lowest to the highest in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Rose Hospital lowest Hayward, CA · (510) 782-6200 RMVL IMPACT EARWAX IRR/LAV UNI File of Feb 23, 2026 · source file | $64.74 | $215.80 | $151.06–$1,107.00 | 70% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Redwood City one side Redwood City, CA · (650) 299-2000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Oakland/Richmond one side Oakland, CA · (510) 752-1000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Leandro one side San Leandro, CA · (510) 454-1000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Walnut Creek one side Walnut Creek, CA · (925) 295-4000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Fremont one side Fremont, CA · (510) 784-4000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Rafael one side San Rafael, CA · (415) 444-2000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Antioch one side Antioch, CA · (925) 813-6500 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - South San Francisco one side South San Francisco, CA · (650) 742-3200 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Francisco one side San Francisco, CA · (415) 833-2646 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| Kaiser Fnd Hospital - Richmond Campus one side Richmond, CA · (510) 752-1000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center one side Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 REMOVAL OF IMPACTED EAR WAX BY WASHING File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $184.20 | $307.00 | $83.26–$8,430.00 | 40% |
| MarinHealth Medical Center Greenbrae, CA · (415) 925-7900 REMOVE IMPACTED EAR WAX UNI File of Mar 26, 2026 · source file | $202.62 | $337.70 | $83.26–$8,430.00 | 40% |
| Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley Pleasanton, CA · (925) 847-3000 Rem Impctd Ear Wax, Irr/Lav File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $268.00 | $670.00 | — | 60% |
| Chinese Hospital San Francisco, CA · (415) 677-2480 Removal of impacted ear wax by washing File of Jul 22, 2026 · source file | $309.00 | $309.00 | $11.54–$2,356.00 | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Summit Campus-Hawthorne Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG RMVL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRR/LAV UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $419.00 | $419.00 | — | — |
| Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Oakland, CA · (510) 655-4000 HCHG RMVL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRR/LAV UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $419.00 | $419.00 | — | — |
Outpatient: lowest $64.74, median $177.52, highest $419.00 — a 6.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 15 facilities here, median $177.52. Inpatient and outpatient prices are not comparable and are kept on separate pages: the inpatient charge covers admission, not the same purchase.
Cash or insurance?
At 13 of 13 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at 1 it is below every plan's rate. If you have insurance but have not met your deductible, you usually pay your plan's negotiated rate, which falls somewhere in the "Insurers pay" column. Paying cash can cost less, but a cash payment usually does not count toward your deductible. Ask the hospital for both numbers before you book.
What ear irrigation is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Ear irrigation explained.