Ear tubes surgery cost in Fort Wayne, IN
In Fort Wayne, IN, 4 hospitals list a cash price for ear tube placement (tympanostomy) under general anesthesia, one ear: from $186.60 to $251.91, with a median of $237.92. The lowest listed price is at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana — $51.32 less than the median here. Across Indiana, the median is $251.91 at 13 hospitals.
Cash prices at 4 facilities across 2 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 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 Fort Wayne, IN.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lutheran Hospital of Indiana lowest Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 435-7001 69436,LT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $186.60 | $622.00 | $134.72–$559.80 | 70% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Hospital of Indiana lowest Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 435-7001 69436 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $186.60 | $622.00 | $134.72–$559.80 | 70% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Hospital of Indiana lowest Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 435-7001 69436,RT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $186.60 | $622.00 | $134.72–$559.80 | 70% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Bluffton Regional Medical Center Bluffton, IN · (260) 824-3210 69436 50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $223.92 | $933.00 | $145.62–$839.70 | 76% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Bluffton Regional Medical Center Bluffton, IN · (260) 824-3210 69436,50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $223.92 | $933.00 | $145.62–$839.70 | 76% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Musculoskeletal Center Fort Wayne, IN 69436,50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $251.91 | $933.00 | $1,453.79–$6,746.19 | 73% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 416-3000 69436 50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $251.91 | $933.00 | $1,453.79–$6,746.19 | 73% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 416-3000 69436,50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $251.91 | $933.00 | $1,453.79–$6,746.19 | 73% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Musculoskeletal Center Fort Wayne, IN 69436 50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $251.91 | $933.00 | $1,453.79–$6,746.19 | 73% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Hospital of Indiana Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 435-7001 69436 50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $279.90 | $933.00 | $134.72–$839.70 | 70% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Hospital of Indiana Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 435-7001 69436,50 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $279.90 | $933.00 | $134.72–$839.70 | 70% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Lutheran Hospital of Indiana Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 435-7001 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $7,337.63 | $24,458.77 | $134.72–$22,012.89 | 70% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
| Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne, IN · (260) 416-3000 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $9,405.93 | $34,836.77 | $145.62–$31,353.09 | 73% | Apr 1, 2026 source file |
Outpatient: lowest $186.60, median $237.92, highest $251.91 — a 1.4× difference within the same market.
As an inpatient, the same code is billed by 4 facilities here, median $265.91. 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 4 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 2 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 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.
9 rows held back from this comparison
They are 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.
| Bluffton Regional Medical Center Bluffton, IN69436,LT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $149.28 | file |
| Bluffton Regional Medical Center Bluffton, IN69436,RT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $149.28 | file |
| Bluffton Regional Medical Center Bluffton, IN69436 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $149.28 | file |
| Lutheran Musculoskeletal Center Fort Wayne, IN69436,LT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $167.94 | file |
| Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne, IN69436,LT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $167.94 | file |
| Lutheran Musculoskeletal Center Fort Wayne, IN69436 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $167.94 | file |
| Lutheran Musculoskeletal Center Fort Wayne, IN69436,RT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $167.94 | file |
| Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne, IN69436,RT CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $167.94 | file |
| Dupont Hospital Fort Wayne, IN69436 CREATE EARDRUM OPENING | $167.94 | file |