Ear tubes surgery cost in Chicago, IL
In Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN, 9 hospitals list a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) under general anesthesia, one ear: from $1,654.00 to $12,324.82, with a median of $7,307.77. The lowest listed price is at Saint Francis Hospital and 1 other hospital — $5,653.77 less than the median here. Across Illinois, the median is $3,993.83 at 14 hospitals.
Cash prices at 9 facilities across 9 cities for code 69436, as an outpatient — the setting a self-pay patient normally buys. Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Apr 1, 2026 and Sep 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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Francis Hospital lowest Evanston, IL · (847) 316-4000 Create eardrum opening | $1,654.00 | $5,474.00 | $157.54–$4,816.03 | 70% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| Mercy Medical Center lowest Aurora, IL · (630) 859-2222 Create eardrum opening | $1,654.00 | $7,606.00 | $154.19–$7,606.00 | 78% | Sep 1, 2026 source file |
| The University of Chicago Medical Center Chicago, IL · (773) 702-9785 Hc Tympanostomy, General Anesthesia | $6,083.00 | $6,083.00 | — | — | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital DeKalb, IL · (815) 756-1521 HB Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $6,100.86 | $8,715.51 | — | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital Geneva, IL · (630) 208-3000 HB Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $7,307.77 | $10,439.67 | — | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Lake Forest, IL · (847) 234-5600 HB Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $7,317.06 | $10,452.94 | $1,068.50–$1,798.50 | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Palos Community Hospital Palos Heights, IL · (708) 923-4000 HB Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $10,431.38 | $14,901.97 | — | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Winfield, IL · (630) 682-1600 HB Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $10,652.35 | $15,217.64 | — | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital McHenry, IL · (815) 344-5000 HB Tympanostomy General Anesthesia | $12,324.82 | $17,606.89 | $1,068.50–$4,551.00 | 30% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $1,654.00, median $7,307.77, highest $12,324.82 — a 7.5× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 1 facility here, median $6,083.00. 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 2 of 4 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 procedure makes a tiny opening in the eardrum and places a small tube to let air in and fluid drain out of the middle ear. It is most often done in children with repeated ear infections or lasting fluid behind the eardrum.
What the price covers
The facility price covers the operating room and recovery. The surgeon and anesthesia are usually billed separately, and the code is for one ear.
1 row held back from this comparison
It is priced below $1 or below a tenth of the national median for code 69436 ($1,743.00). Such a line is almost always a physician's fee billed separately, an assistant's share or a placeholder — a real charge, but not the price of the procedure itself.
| Humboldt Park Health Chicago, ILIncision of eardrum with placement of eardrum tube under general anesthesia | $160.52 | file |