Earwax removal cost in Boston, MA
In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, 21 hospitals list a cash price for earwax removal with instruments, one ear: from $114.15 to $1,784.00, with a median of $321.00. The lowest listed price is at Boston Medical Center South — $206.85 less than the median here. Across Massachusetts, the median is $273.15 at 32 hospitals.
- The median here, $321.00, is 159% above the US median of $124.00.
- That is 5.3× Medicare's 2026 national rate for the same service ($60.27).
- 12 of 21 hospitals list a cash price equal to their full list price, with no self-pay discount.
Cash prices at 21 facilities across 14 cities for code 69210, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 29, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Dec 15, 2025 and May 18, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Medical Center South one side lowest Brockton, MA · (508) 427-3000 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $114.15 | $253.66 | $63.92–$394.86 | 55% |
| Boston Medical Center Brighton one side Boston, MA · (617) 789-3000 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $134.68 | $299.28 | $63.92–$475.07 | 55% |
| Lowell General Hospital one side Lowell, MA · (978) 937-6000 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $143.50 | $205.00 | $31.96–$401.28 | 30% |
| Boston Medical Center one side Boston, MA · (617) 638-8000 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Mar 13, 2026 · source file | $144.45 | $321.00 | $63.92–$695.29 | 55% |
| Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge, MA · (617) 665-1000 HC Ear Irrigation Removal Impacted Cerumen Earwax File of Mar 20, 2026 · source file | $160.00 | $160.00 | $22.06–$260.00 | — |
| Melrosewakefield Healthcare one side Melrose, MA · (781) 979-3000 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $170.10 | $243.00 | $63.92–$530.75 | 30% |
| Tufts Medical Center one side Boston, MA · (617) 636-5000 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $216.30 | $309.00 | $31.96–$463.50 | 30% |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Needham Needham, MA · (781) 453-3002 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $267.00 | $267.00 | — | — |
| Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 RMVL; IMPACTED CERUMEN File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file | $268.80 | $384.00 | $27.28–$213.12 | 30% |
| Southcoast Hospitals Group - Tobey Hospital Campus one side Wareham, MA · (508) 679-3131 HC Removal Impacted Cerumen Instrumentation Unilat File of Dec 15, 2025 · source file | $277.50 | $555.00 | $70.53–$1,790.00 | 50% |
| Winchester Hospital Winchester, MA · (781) 729-9000 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $321.00 | $321.00 | — | — |
| Emerson Hospital Concord, MA · (978) 369-1400 REMOVE IMPACTED EAR WAX UNI File of May 18, 2026 · source file | $326.19 | $434.92 | $64.59–$702.41 | 25% |
| Exeter Hospital Exeter, NH · (603) 778-7311 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $330.04 | $330.04 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Plymouth Plymouth, MA · (508) 746-2000 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $336.00 | $336.00 | — | — |
| Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Brockton, MA · (508) 941-7000 RMVL; IMPACTED CERUMEN (ER) File of Jan 28, 2026 · source file | $338.80 | $484.00 | $69.13–$1,505.00 | 30% |
| Shriners Childrens - Boston Boston, MA · (617) 722-3000 REMOVE IMPACTED EAR WAX UNI File of Mar 17, 2026 · source file | $345.91 | $345.91 | $13.13–$1,525.00 | — |
| Anna Jaques Hospital Newburyport, MA · (978) 463-1000 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $388.00 | $388.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton Milton, MA · (617) 696-4600 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $400.00 | $400.00 | — | — |
| Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington Burlington, MA · (781) 744-5100 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $459.00 | $459.00 | — | — |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA · (617) 667-7000 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $477.00 | $477.00 | — | — |
| Mount Auburn Hospital Cambridge, MA · (617) 492-3500 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $825.00 | $825.00 | — | — |
| New England Baptist Hospital Boston, MA · (617) 754-5800 HC REM IMPACTED CERUMEN INSTRUMENTATION UNI File of Apr 1, 2026 · source file | $1,784.00 | $1,784.00 | — | — |
| Emerson Hospital both sides Concord, MA · (978) 369-1400 REM CERUMEN UNI/BI File of May 18, 2026 · source file | $42.75 | $57.00 | $36.48–$262.22 | 25% |
Outpatient: lowest $114.15, median $321.00, highest $1,784.00 — a 15.6× difference within the same market.
Both sides : lowest $42.75, median $42.75, highest $42.75.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 20 facilities here, median $294.90. 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 10 of 11 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 earwax removal is, what the price covers and why prices differ: Earwax removal explained.