Clinical Staff

Carol Clifford, founder of Albuquerque Hearing & Balance, is dedicated to excellence in patient care. A nationally renowned speaker in the Hearing Industries, Carol chose to return to the rewarding practice of clinical audiology, understanding that she can provide profound changes to patients with hearing loss. Carol received her Bachelor’s degree in Communicative Disorders from Colorado State University in 1983, her Master’s Degree in Audiology & Hearing Impairment in 1984 from Northwestern University, and her Doctorate in 2006 from A.T. Stills University. She completed her Clinical Fellowship Year at Glen Ellyn Clinic in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where she specialized in the evaluation and treatment of children with hearing disorders. As part of a medical team at Rush-Presbyterian Medical Center and Rush University, Carol obtained valuable knowledge that she has utilized in her hearing care endeavors.

In 1987, Carol purchased her first audiology practice in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in medical diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of hearing loss and balance disorders for both children and adults. In 8 years there, she directed a group of audiologists and served more than 100 physicians in the Chicago suburban area. In 1993, Carol returned to Albuquerque where she served as Director of the Audiology Clinic for University Hospital at the University of New Mexico. At the same time, she established the nation’s largest audiology network for managed care groups. Always interested in the research and development of new products to aid persons with hearing impairment, Carol served as Director of Professional Education and Training for ReSound Corporation from 1996 to 1998.

Carol opened Albuquerque Hearing & Balance in 1998 with the ambition of providing the highest quality service to the New Mexico community.

Tammy Sawyer joined Albuquerque Hearing & Balance in the summer of 2011. She obtained her Bachelor’s degrees from Adrian College in Sociology and Psychology in 1979 and her Master’s in Audiology from Minot State University in 1988. Tammy has worked in a number of settings with the deaf and hard of hearing. She was a counselor at Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in West Trenton and a Hearing Aid Dispenser for the Canadian Hearing Society. During this time, she began developing diagnostic programs for testing infants and children as well as for patients in hospital settings. She served as a Pediatric Audiologist at both Sebastian County Health Clinic in Ft. Smith, Arkansas and at Welsely Medical Center in Wichita Kansas. She also worked as a Clinical Audiologist at Willis Knighton South Medical Center. Before joining Albuquerque Hearing & Balance, Tammy devoted her life to her two daughters and husband. Her husband was in the Air Force, moving their family to Germany and eventually back to New Mexico. Now that her children are teenagers, we were able to convince Tammy to become part of our team! Tammy’s expertise in diagnostics combined with her warm-mannered nature allows her to successfully help Albuquerque Hearing & Balance reach more people with hearing loss!

Maria joined Albuquerque Hearing and Balance in September 2017 following three years of clinical practice with Albuquerque Speech Language Hearing Center. She moved to Albuquerque in May 2014 after decades in the humid mid-Atlantic. Maria received her Bachelors in Hearing and Speech Sciences from the University of Maryland in College Park, earned her Doctorate of Audiology from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and completed a one-year fellowship at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Her clinical interests include rehabilitation with hearing instruments in both pediatric and adult populations, cochlear implants in adults, and custom hearing protection for industrial and recreational settings. She works with patients across the lifespan and with all levels of hearing acuity.