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CPT 92556: Speech Recognition and Hearing Assessment

CPT code 92556 describes a diagnostic procedure that measures a patient’s ability to recognize familiar words and repeat them, used to evaluate speech recognition and auditory function in suspected hearing disorders. Nationally, this code supports clinical decision-making for audiologists and otolaryngologists and is a common component of comprehensive hearing evaluations that inform amplification, medical, or rehabilitative interventions.

Key payers in this analysis include Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. The publication outlines payer coverage patterns and common billing practices for 92556, recognizing variation across commercial and public plans.

Readers will find a concise clinical overview of the service and its typical settings, a summary of payer considerations and common modifiers, and context about how the code fits within broader audiology diagnostic panels. The piece also highlights administrative details relevant to billing professionals, such as typical sites of service and how the procedure is used in diagnostic workflows. Data not available in the input is noted where applicable.

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Billing Code Overview

CPT code 92556 documents an assessment in which the provider measures a patient's ability to recognize familiar words and repeat them. This procedure is used in the diagnosis and evaluation of hearing disorders, particularly to evaluate speech recognition and auditory function.

Service type: Diagnostic speech recognition and hearing assessment
Typical site of service: Audiology clinic, ENT clinic, outpatient diagnostic facility, or other ambulatory care settings where hearing evaluations are performed

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CPT 92556: Speech Recognition and Hearing Assessment

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Billing Code Overview

Service type: Diagnostic speech recognition and hearing assessment
Typical site of service: Audiology clinic, ENT clinic, outpatient diagnostic facility, or other ambulatory care settings where hearing evaluations are performed

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

A 55-year-old patient presents to an audiology clinic with progressive difficulty understanding speech, especially in background noise, and reports hearing loss over several months. The audiologist performs otoscopy and pure-tone audiometry, then conducts a speech recognition test to quantify the patient’s ability to recognize and repeat familiar words in quiet and in noise. The procedure 92556 (speech recognition) is administered in a sound-treated booth using standardized recorded or live-voice word lists. Results guide diagnosis of sensorineural versus conductive hearing loss, determine speech discrimination scores for amplification candidacy, and inform referral to otology or hearing rehabilitation. Typical site of service is an outpatient audiology clinic or hospital outpatient department. The service type is diagnostic audiologic testing performed by an audiologist or qualified provider, with documentation including test method, word list used, presentation level (dB HL or dB SL), patient responses, and speech recognition score.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`26`	Professional component	When billing only the professional interpretation and report for the test performed by another entity
`59`	Distinct procedural service	When `92556` is separately identifiable from another procedure performed on the same day
`76`	Repeat procedure by same physician	When the provider repeats `92556` later the same day for clinical reasons (note: `76` is not listed in raw modifiers; use `77`/others not allowed)
`95`	Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via real-time interactive audio and video	When speech recognition testing is delivered via approved teleaudiology methods with real-time audiovisual connection
`TC`	Technical component	When billing only the technical component (equipment, technician) separate from professional interpretation
`59`	Distinct procedural service	When `92556` is distinct and separate from other services on the same day (listed above for emphasis)
`52`	Reduced services	When the test is partially reduced or not completed as documented
`53`	Discontinued procedure	When testing is started but discontinued for patient safety or inability to continue
`GA`	Waiver of liability statement on file (not in raw modifiers)	Data not available in the input
`LT`	Left side	When side-specific reporting is required and the test is performed for the left ear only
`RT`	Right side	When side-specific reporting is required and the test is performed for the right ear only

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`207Y00000X`	Audiology	Audiologists commonly perform `92556` in outpatient settings
`207L00000X`	Otolaryngology (ENT)	ENTs interpret results and manage medical/surgical treatment
`208000000X`	General Practice/Family Medicine	Primary care may order and review results prior to referral
`261QU0200X`	Speech-Language Pathology	SLPs may perform speech recognition testing in communication evaluations
`363A00000X`	Hearing Aid Specialist	Specialists use results to guide amplification recommendations

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`H90.3`	Sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral	Common indication for speech recognition testing to quantify functional hearing and speech discrimination
`H90.41`	Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, right ear	Speech recognition testing documents impact on speech understanding and tracks recovery
`H90.42`	Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, left ear	As above, used for side-specific assessment
`H91.90`	Unspecified hearing loss, unspecified ear	Used when initial presentation requires diagnostic speech recognition testing
`H93.7`	Tinnitus, unspecified	Patients with tinnitus often have concurrent hearing loss and undergo speech recognition testing

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`92557`	Comprehensive audiometry threshold evaluation and speech recognition (including pure tone thresholds, air and bone, and speech audiometry)	Often performed alongside or as part of a full audiometric evaluation that includes `92556` speech recognition
`92567`	Tympanometry (impedance testing)	Performed before or after speech testing to evaluate middle-ear function that can affect speech recognition
`92585`	Auditory evoked potentials for threshold estimation and/or hearing screening	May be used adjunctively for objective assessment when speech recognition testing cannot be completed
`92626`	Evaluation of auditory rehabilitation status; first hour	Used in follow-up for hearing aid or cochlear implant candidacy after speech recognition testing
`99173`	Screening test of visual acuity by clinician (example unrelated)	Data not available in the input

CPT 92550: Tympanometry and Acoustic Reflex Threshold Testing

CPT-92551-HEARING-SCREENING-LIMITED-TONES

CPT 92551: Limited Hearing Screening with Tones

CPT-92552-PURE-TONE-AUDIOMETRY-THRESHOLD-ASSESSMENT

CPT 92552: Pure Tone Audiometry Threshold Assessment

CPT-92553-PURE-TONE-AUDIOMETRY-AIR-AND-BONE-CONDUCTION

CPT 92553: Pure Tone Audiometry, Air and Bone Conduction

CPT-92555-SPEECH-RECEPTION-AWARENESS-THRESHOLD

CPT 92555: Speech Reception/Awareness Threshold Measurement

CPT-92557-DIAGNOSTIC-AUDIOLOGIC-EVALUATION-PURE-TONE-AND-SPEECH-RECOGNITION

CPT 92557: Diagnostic Audiologic Evaluation with Pure Tone and Speech Testing

CPT-92558-NEWBORN-INFANT-OTOACOUSTIC-EMISSIONS-HEARING-SCREEN

CPT 92558: Newborn/Infant Otoacoustic Emissions Hearing Screen

CPT-92562-ALTERNATE-BINAURAL-PURE-TONE-AUDIOMETRY

CPT 92562: Alternating Binaural Pure-Tone Audiometry

CPT-92563-AUDITORY-NERVE-TRANSMISSION-TIMING-ASSESSMENT

CPT 92563: Auditory Nerve Transmission Timing Assessment

CPT-92565-BINAURAL-TONE-COMPARISON-UNILATERAL-HEARING-LOSS

CPT 92565: Binaural Tone Comparison for Unilateral Hearing Loss

Showing 1–10 of 27

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`26`	Professional component	When billing only the professional interpretation and report for the test performed by another entity
`59`	Distinct procedural service	When `92556` is separately identifiable from another procedure performed on the same day
`76`	Repeat procedure by same physician	When the provider repeats `92556` later the same day for clinical reasons (note: `76` is not listed in raw modifiers; use `77`/others not allowed)
`95`	Synchronous telemedicine service rendered via real-time interactive audio and video	When speech recognition testing is delivered via approved teleaudiology methods with real-time audiovisual connection
`TC`	Technical component	When billing only the technical component (equipment, technician) separate from professional interpretation
`59`	Distinct procedural service	When `92556` is distinct and separate from other services on the same day (listed above for emphasis)
`52`	Reduced services	When the test is partially reduced or not completed as documented
`53`	Discontinued procedure	When testing is started but discontinued for patient safety or inability to continue
`GA`	Waiver of liability statement on file (not in raw modifiers)	Data not available in the input
`LT`	Left side	When side-specific reporting is required and the test is performed for the left ear only
`RT`	Right side	When side-specific reporting is required and the test is performed for the right ear only

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
`207Y00000X`	Audiology	Audiologists commonly perform `92556` in outpatient settings
`207L00000X`	Otolaryngology (ENT)	ENTs interpret results and manage medical/surgical treatment
`208000000X`	General Practice/Family Medicine	Primary care may order and review results prior to referral
`261QU0200X`	Speech-Language Pathology	SLPs may perform speech recognition testing in communication evaluations
`363A00000X`	Hearing Aid Specialist	Specialists use results to guide amplification recommendations

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`H90.3`	Sensorineural hearing loss, bilateral	Common indication for speech recognition testing to quantify functional hearing and speech discrimination
`H90.41`	Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, right ear	Speech recognition testing documents impact on speech understanding and tracks recovery
`H90.42`	Sudden sensorineural hearing loss, left ear	As above, used for side-specific assessment
`H91.90`	Unspecified hearing loss, unspecified ear	Used when initial presentation requires diagnostic speech recognition testing
`H93.7`	Tinnitus, unspecified	Patients with tinnitus often have concurrent hearing loss and undergo speech recognition testing

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`92557`	Comprehensive audiometry threshold evaluation and speech recognition (including pure tone thresholds, air and bone, and speech audiometry)	Often performed alongside or as part of a full audiometric evaluation that includes `92556` speech recognition
`92567`	Tympanometry (impedance testing)	Performed before or after speech testing to evaluate middle-ear function that can affect speech recognition
`92585`	Auditory evoked potentials for threshold estimation and/or hearing screening	May be used adjunctively for objective assessment when speech recognition testing cannot be completed
`92626`	Evaluation of auditory rehabilitation status; first hour	Used in follow-up for hearing aid or cochlear implant candidacy after speech recognition testing
`99173`	Screening test of visual acuity by clinician (example unrelated)	Data not available in the input

CPT 92550: Tympanometry and Acoustic Reflex Threshold Testing

CPT-92551-HEARING-SCREENING-LIMITED-TONES

CPT 92551: Limited Hearing Screening with Tones

CPT-92552-PURE-TONE-AUDIOMETRY-THRESHOLD-ASSESSMENT

CPT 92552: Pure Tone Audiometry Threshold Assessment

CPT-92553-PURE-TONE-AUDIOMETRY-AIR-AND-BONE-CONDUCTION

CPT 92553: Pure Tone Audiometry, Air and Bone Conduction

CPT-92555-SPEECH-RECEPTION-AWARENESS-THRESHOLD

CPT 92555: Speech Reception/Awareness Threshold Measurement

CPT-92557-DIAGNOSTIC-AUDIOLOGIC-EVALUATION-PURE-TONE-AND-SPEECH-RECOGNITION

CPT 92557: Diagnostic Audiologic Evaluation with Pure Tone and Speech Testing

CPT-92558-NEWBORN-INFANT-OTOACOUSTIC-EMISSIONS-HEARING-SCREEN

CPT 92558: Newborn/Infant Otoacoustic Emissions Hearing Screen

CPT-92562-ALTERNATE-BINAURAL-PURE-TONE-AUDIOMETRY

CPT 92562: Alternating Binaural Pure-Tone Audiometry

CPT-92563-AUDITORY-NERVE-TRANSMISSION-TIMING-ASSESSMENT

CPT 92563: Auditory Nerve Transmission Timing Assessment

CPT-92565-BINAURAL-TONE-COMPARISON-UNILATERAL-HEARING-LOSS

CPT 92565: Binaural Tone Comparison for Unilateral Hearing Loss

Showing 1–10 of 27

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Jul 29, 2026.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

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CPT 92556: Speech Recognition and Hearing Assessment

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Billing Code Overview

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CPT 92556: Speech Recognition and Hearing Assessment

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Billing Code Overview

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

References

Clinical & Coding Specifications

Clinical Context

Coding Specifications

Related Diagnoses

Related CPT Codes

Related Codes

References