Ear irrigation cost in San Jose, CA — inpatient
In San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, 3 hospitals list a cash price for earwax removal by irrigation (rinsing), one ear as an inpatient: from $34.50 to $177.52, with a median of $177.52. The lowest listed price is at Stanford Health Care — $143.02 less than the median here. Across California, the median is $177.52 at 87 hospitals.
Cash prices at 3 facilities across 3 cities for code 69209, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Apr 1, 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford Health Care lowest Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 Remove Ear Was Using Irrigation/Lavage, Uni | $34.50 | $69.00 | $8.08–$32.75 | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Stanford Health Care lowest Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 Remove Ear Was Using Irrigation/Lavage, Uni | $34.50 | $69.00 | $10.10–$32.75 | 50% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - San Jose one side San Jose, CA · (408) 972-7000 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital - Santa Clara one side Santa Clara, CA · (408) 236-6400 REMOVAL IMPACTED CERUMEN IRRIGATION/LVG UNILAT | $177.52 | $317.00 | $72.00–$225.00 | 44% | — source file |
| Stanford Health Care Stanford, CA · (650) 723-4000 Rem Impctd Ear Wax, Irr/Lav | $294.40 | $736.00 | — | 60% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $34.50, median $177.52, highest $177.52 — a 5.1× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 3 facilities here, median $177.52 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 2 of 3 hospitals that publish insurer rates for this code here, the cash price is below the highest rate a health plan has negotiated, and at none is it 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 it is
This code covers rinsing impacted earwax out of one ear with water or saline.
What the price covers
The price is for one ear.