Publication Number

100-3

Manual Section Number

50.6

Version Number

1

Effective Date of this Version

This is a longstanding national coverage determination. The effective date of this version has not been posted.

Benefit Category

Durable Medical Equipment

Note: This may not be an exhaustive list of all applicable Medicare benefit categories for this item or service.

Item/Service Description

A tinnitus masker is a device designed to be worn like a behind-the-ear hearing aid by persons seeking relief from tinnitus. Tinnitus is the perception of noise in the ear and/or head area. The masker produces external sounds to distract the person from the tinnitus.

By producing an external sound a few decibels above the person's audible threshold, tinnitus masking is thought to provide sufficient distraction from subjective idiopathic tinnitus to alleviate the discomfort and debilitation associated with endogenous sounds within the ear and/or head area.

Indications and Limitations of Coverage

Tinnitus masking is considered an experimental therapy at this time because of the lack of controlled clinical trials demonstrating effectiveness and the unstudied possibility of serious toxicity in the form of noise induced hearing loss. Therefore, it is not covered.

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Page Last Modified: 4/23/2009 7:26:58 AM

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