CPT code 92533: Caloric vestibular test, each irrigation2026 Medicare rate & RVUs

Medicare allowed amount for participating (non-QP) physicians, before deductible, coinsurance and claim adjustments. Not a patient’s bill or a hospital charge.

What 92533 covers

Caloric vestibular testing uses warm or cool water or air introduced into the ear canal to stimulate vestibular responses. The examiner observes eye movements, including nystagmus, as part of an evaluation for dizziness, vertigo, or suspected vestibular dysfunction. Audiologists and otolaryngology clinicians commonly perform the test in audiology and otolaryngology settings.

For Medicare physician fee schedule purposes, 92533 has status B: Medicare does not pay it separately, and its payment is included in payment for other services. Report the code for each caloric irrigation performed. The record should identify the ear and stimulus and describe the observed eye-movement response. Codes 92537 and 92538 distinguish recorded bithermal and monothermal testing protocols; select among these codes based on the service performed.

This summary was written with AI assistance from CMS physician fee schedule data and checked against the CMS billing rules shown here. Rates on this page come directly from CMS files.

Where 92533 pays more and less

The same RVUs, adjusted for each area’s costs. Open a locality for its calculation, history and nearby areas.

109 of 109 payment localities

92533 rates by state

Office rate range in each state. Select a state to see its payment localities.

How the 92533 rate is calculated

Each of 92533’s three RVUs is multiplied by a geographic index (GPCI) for the payment locality, added up, and multiplied by the conversion factor. Drag the indexes or enter a ZIP to see what moves the rate.

Payment rules and modifiers for 92533

92533 has no global surgery period, no multiple-procedure, bilateral or assistant-at-surgery adjustment, and no professional/technical split. What changes the payment is where the service happens: the place of service on the claim decides whether Medicare pays the office or the facility rate.

92533 compared with similar codes

How to choose

92537Caloric testWith eye-movement recording

92537 describes recorded bithermal caloric testing. Use 92533 to report each irrigation when that more specific recorded-testing protocol is not the service performed.

92538Caloric vestibular testUnilateral, with recording

92538 describes recorded monothermal caloric testing. Use 92533 to report each irrigation when that more specific recorded-testing protocol is not the service performed.

92532Positional nystagmusWithout recording

92532 is positional nystagmus testing. Code 92533 uses caloric stimulation through ear-canal irrigation to assess vestibular responses.

Codes related to 92533

Related codes aren’t interchangeable: bill the code that matches the service performed.

Where these rates come from

FeeBase calculates base physician payments from CMS work, practice-expense and malpractice RVUs, adjusted by each locality’s geographic indexes and the conversion factor. Services without a published rate are labeled, never given a made-up amount. Amounts are Medicare allowed amounts before claim adjustments: not a patient’s bill or a commercial rate.

CMS RVU26D · effective Oct 1, 2026 through the day before Jan 1, 2027

Open CMS sourceHow we calculate rates