Sonora Hearing Care, LLC

10/15/2026

This is the piece of equipment that typically isn’t used in a hearing screening…
It's called a bone-conduction oscillator. It sits on the bone behind your ear and transmits sound directly to the inner ear, bypassing the eardrum and middle ear entirely. Comparing what you hear through it against what you hear through headphones is how I tell the difference between a hearing loss that's permanent and one an ENT may be able to treat. ☺️
A screening at the pharmacy or the health fair doesn’t include this comparison because there typically isn’t a sound booth!
At Sonora Hearing Care, LLC in Tucson, every hearing test is a full diagnostic evaluation with a Doctor of Audiology. I look in your ears. 👂 I check how your eardrum is moving. I map your hearing pitch by pitch in each ear, and then I test how well you understand words, and speech in background noise, because that's what hearing at a noisy restaurant actually sounds like!
October is Audiology Awareness Month, so I wrote out the full difference between a screening and a diagnostic exam. It's on our blog, and the link is in the first comment! 👇

10/14/2026

AP... what?
It's the middle of football season, and along with the hits everyone sees on the highlight reel, there's one that doesn't show up there: how the brain processes sound afterward. 🏈
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is what happens when someone has normal hearing test results but still struggles to process what they hear. 🎧
Research suggests more than half of people who've experienced a traumatic brain injury, concussions included, go on to develop auditory processing difficulties. Symptoms can include:
● Trouble following TV dialogue, even at a normal volume
● Forgetting a name shortly after meeting someone
● Struggling to follow conversations in noisy places
● Losing track partway through multi-step directions
Because a standard hearing test usually comes back normal, APD is easy to miss, even months after the original injury. 🔍
A normal hearing test doesn't rule this out. If any of this sounds familiar to you, an athlete in your family, or anyone recovering from a head injury, an Auditory Processing Evaluation can help identify where the breakdown is actually happening. Message us, and we can get you to the right people! 🧠

10/13/2026

Do you know someone who has hearing aids sitting in a drawer at home? 🫣
It's a pattern we see often: a spouse or family member comes in, describing the same thing - the hearing aids spending more time in a drawer than in their ears, and no clear explanation why.
From the outside, it's easy to assume someone isn't wearing their hearing aids because they don't want to. But almost every time, that's not the real story. Often, sound has started feeling too sharp in busy places, conversations feel overwhelming, or the fit has simply become uncomfortable. Instead of helping someone stay connected, the hearing aids start to feel like something to retreat from.
That's rarely about effort or stubbornness. It's frustration, the kind that builds until putting the hearing aids away feels easier than pushing through. 🙁
The good news: this is usually fixable. A follow-up appointment to refine the sound, improve comfort, and adjust for the environments someone actually spends time in can make an immediate difference.
At Sonora Hearing Care, LLC, we are open to servicing any type of hearing aid brand or manufacturer. 🦻📲 Just give us a call!

10/12/2026

10/12/2026

Here's something most people don't know: becoming an audiologist takes more training than most people realize!
Having your clinical doctorate in Audiology means four years of doctoral training after undergrad. The last year is a full-time clinical residency. Then national board certification and state licensure! 🙌
The training doesn't stop at how hearing aids work. It covers the ear, the auditory system, the vestibular system, and how all of it connects back to the brain. 👂🧠
That depth of training matters most when something is more complicated than it looks. An asymmetry, a balance issue, a symptom pointing somewhere else entirely…
It's Audiology Awareness Month! If you didn't know any of this before today, what surprised you most?

10/11/2026

Before you ever sit down for an appointment, you've probably already talked to someone on our team, usually about insurance.
"What does my plan actually cover?" and "What will this visit cost me?" are the most common calls our front desk gets, and they're handled before you ever walk through the door. Checking your benefits ahead of time means fewer surprises! ☺️
It might not be flashy, but it's the part that makes your visit go smoothly!
Ever had a question about your coverage answered before your appointment even started? Tell us in the comments. 👇

10/10/2026

Today is World Audiologist Day, and I want to tell you what people usually get wrong about audiology. Audiologists are more than just hearing aid technicians.

People think this work is about a physical device, a product. If you've never actually met the person behind your hearing care, today's a good day too.
An audiologist has years of doctoral-level study in how the ear and brain process sound, how to test for what's actually wrong (not just whether you can hear a beep), and how to build a plan that fits your life instead of handing you a one-size-fits-all device!
It's not a one-time visit. It's tests, adjustments, troubleshooting, and answering the same question a dozen different ways as your hearing or your life changes.
If you've ever wondered what a Doctor of Audiology does all day, now you know a little more! 💓
What's one thing you didn't know audiologists did until you needed one? Tell me in the comments.

10/09/2026

Two people can wear the exact same hearing aid make and model, programmed the exact same way, but hear two completely different things. 👂🤯

Here's why:

Every ear canal is shaped differently, so the same setting can sound completely different from one person to the next. Real-ear measurement is how your hearing aids get adjusted for YOUR ears specifically (instead of an average).

This quick and painless test uses a soft, thin tube placed in your ear canal before your hearing aid goes in. You’ll sit in front of a speaker and listen to speech or sound at soft, average, and loud volumes. As you listen, your audiologist measures how your hearing aids respond inside your ear and adjusts the programming at each level to ensure the most accurate, comfortable fit possible.

There is a real science behind getting hearing aids just right, and REMs help us tailor your devices to your hearing loss, your ear shape, and your listening needs. 🎶📈

10/08/2026

"I just want to know if I need hearing aids." 🦻

This is a common first question from new patients. And it might sound like a yes-or-no question, but unfortunately, it’s not!

Whether hearing aids would help depends on what type of hearing loss you have, how much, at which pitches, in which ear, and how well your brain is picking words out of background noise. 🧠

👉 A screening checks whether sound is getting through.
👉 A diagnostic evaluation measures all of the above!

That's why every hearing test at Sonora Hearing Care, LLC, in Tucson is a full diagnostic evaluation with a Doctor of Audiology. You leave with an actual answer, and sometimes that answer isn't hearing aids at all.

If you've been meaning to get your hearing checked before [a local seasonal moment — e.g., "the holidays," "deer season," "the grandkids visit for Thanksgiving"], call now! 📲 We would love to see you and answer any questions you might have!

10/07/2026

Many families have a history of dementia…

What many people don’t realize is that hearing loss is one of the most significant modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline. When the brain isn’t receiving clear sound, the auditory cortex becomes under‑stimulated, and over time, that lack of engagement can affect memory, processing, and cognitive function. 🧩 🧠

If you notice a loved one struggling to follow conversations, withdrawing from group discussions, or frequently asking for repetition, it may be more than “just getting older.” 👂 Often, family members are the first to spot hearing changes.

If you or a family member would like to learn more, just reach out and contact us!