Hearing test cost in Waterloo, IA — inpatient
In Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, 2 hospitals list a cash price for comprehensive hearing test: tone and speech audiometry, both ears as an inpatient: from $39.00 to $87.20, with a median of $63.10. The lowest listed price is at MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center — $24.10 less than the median here. Across Iowa, the median is $87.20 at 20 hospitals.
Cash prices at 2 facilities for code 92557, as an inpatient (admitted to hospital) . Collected Sep 23, 2026; the hospital files themselves were last updated between Jan 28, 2026 and Mar 31, 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA.
Hospitals, cheapest first
| Hospital | Cash price | List price | Insurers pay | Off list | File date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center lowest Waterloo, IA · (319) 272-8000 PR Comprehensive Audiometry Threshold Evaluation and Speech Recognition | $39.00 | — | $16.40–$105.53 | — | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| Allen Hospital Waterloo, IA · (319) 235-3941 PR COMPREHENSIVE HEARING TEST | $87.20 | $109.00 | $29.45–$84.51 | 20% | Jan 28, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo, IA · (319) 272-8000 HC Audiometry Speech Threshold With Speech Recognition Comprehensive | $546.00 | $840.00 | $121.22–$840.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
| MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center Waterloo, IA · (319) 272-8000 HC Puretone Air/Bone Sp Ext | $546.00 | $840.00 | $121.22–$840.00 | 35% | Mar 31, 2026 source file |
Inpatient: lowest $39.00, median $63.10, highest $87.20 — a 2.2× difference within the same market.
As an outpatient, the same code is billed by 2 facilities here, median $92.10 — that is the price to compare if you are not being admitted.
Cash or insurance?
At 1 of 2 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 is a full hearing test done in a sound booth, usually by an audiologist. It measures the softest tones you can hear through headphones and a bone vibrator, and how well you hear and repeat speech.
What the price covers
The price covers the hearing test for both ears. Tympanometry (a middle-ear test), hearing aid evaluation and fitting, and a doctor's visit are billed separately.