Living with unresolved hearing issues such as tinnitus, sensitivity to sound, or difficulty hearing
in background noise or groups? Our Denver Sound Relief Tinnitus & Hearing Center is located in
Cherry Creek. As a family-owned and operated audiology practice, we take pride in effectively
treating those living with tinnitus, hyperacusis, and hearing loss. We have the experience,
technology, and compassion essential to successfully reduce the impact of tinnitus on your life. No
Colorado tinnitus treatment team is ranked higher or referred with more confidence than Sound Relief
Tinnitus & Hearing Center.
Drew specializes in hearing wellness and conservation for the music industry. Whether you’re a fan, crew member, or musician, she can provide the most comprehensive solution for your needs. Her emphasis on this aspect of audiology goes hand in hand with her focus on tinnitus treatment and hearing protection.
She earned her Doctorate in Audiology from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, and completed her Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a second-generation audiologist, she has grown up seeing firsthand how important hearing wellness is to quality of life.
Drew is also a pastor’s kid, so she grew up in Florida, Arkansas, and finally landed in Louisiana, where her family still resides. She enjoys hiking, skiing, cooking, traveling, and live music in her free time.
Dr. Gabriela Perez-Saenz is deeply committed to improving the lives of those with hearing loss, a passion sparked by her mother’s struggle with Meniere’s Disease. She strives to offer exceptional care to individuals facing communication and hearing difficulties through her work. Originally from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Dr. Perez-Saenz earned her undergraduate degree from New Mexico State University and her Doctorate of Audiology from the University of Utah. Her journey in audiology began during graduate school, where she gained valuable experience in patient care and hearing device technology. She also volunteered with the Starkey Hearing Foundation in Colombia, fitting hearing devices for those in need. Dr. Perez-Saenz lives in Aurora, Colorado, with her husband, son, and two Golden Retrievers. She enjoys reading, traveling, and exploring Colorado when she is not working. Dr. Perez-Saenz sees patients in our Cherry Creek office and our Centennial office.
How do you treat tinnitus?
Our doctors customize a sound therapy plan specific to each patient.
What is sound therapy?
A process using soothing sounds to rewire the brain.
Tinnitus can disrupt everything - your mood, thoughts, feelings, work, social-life, and overall well-being. We stop the vicious cycle of tinnitus using Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, or TRT. When customized appropriately to an individual’s needs, it is a highly successful approach to treating tinnitus.
More specifically, TRT uses sound therapy and directive counseling over 12 – 24 months to properly deal with the three systems involved: the auditory system (hearing), the limbic system (emotions), and the autonomic nervous system (flight or fight response). Over our many years of helping patients with tinnitus, we have developed and refined our treatment protocols, evaluated countless new technology offerings, and invested in our people and equipment to provide the best outcomes in the industry. We have been able to provide life-changing results for over 80% of our patients, and we can help you too.
This groundbreaking educational counseling platform is built on the foundation of twenty years of helping tinnitus patients.
Designed to enhance our already robust approach to Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), Sound Relief Learning Center drives active learning, a crucial aspect of the treatment process. Combined with the expert guidance of our audiologists, we expect patients to achieve even better outcomes and faster results.
With comprehensive modules, assessments, and additional resources, our patients are uniquely positioned for success. Research shows that a complete understanding of the neurophysiologic model of tinnitus is necessary to regain control and break negative emotional associations with tinnitus. Sound Relief Learning Center provides the education and tools under one “roof” to facilitate the most effective implementation of TRT to achieve patient goals.
There are a multitude of different Digital Hearing Aids available at Sound Relief. Features include:
- Dual microphones to improve your ability to hear in noisy environments. The two microphones create separate signals that combine to help you distinguish the direction of the sound waves. Some devices can even identify the source of a noise and reduce it.
- Open technology eliminates occlusion by keeping the ear canal unobstructed and produces a more natural sound experience.
- Feedback cancellation cancels out any acoustic feedback before you hear it as an irritating whistle. Digital hearing aids can monitor these signals and remove them before amplification occurs.
- Hands-free technology allows your hearing aid to automatically adjust to your listening environment. So if something is affecting your ability to hear, the digital device will identify it and acclimate to the situation.
- Computer programming allows personalization of your hearing device. Using a computer, you can adjust your device’s settings to ensure they meet your needs.
- Wireless technology allows your hearing aids to act similar to headphones. You can connect and listen to devices like your cell phone, home phone, and television directly through your digital hearing aids.
Sound Relief is a Premier Provider for the Lyric by Phonak based on our high level of care. Lyric is the first-ever 100% invisible hearing device with extended wearing capability. This technology can sit in the ear canal and be used 24/7 for up to 4 months. There is no need to change the device or maintenance required. The Lyric can be used during daily activities such as work, exercise, bathing, chatting on the phone and sleeping.
Sound Therapy for Hyperacusis
Although a cure to quickly eliminate hyperacusis does not currently exist, therapies can improve the sufferer’s quality of life by reducing their fear and anxieties, helping them cope with uncomfortable sounds, and even reducing their sensitivity to sounds. For example, sound therapy can retrain the brain’s auditory processing center to accept everyday sounds as normal again. The individual wears a sound generator that produces soft, soothing sounds that can be controlled by the patient. Over the course of about 6 to 12 months, regular use of the device and directive counseling on appropriate levels of sound and responses to them can rebuild the individual’s tolerance to sounds. Sound therapy requires directive counseling by a qualified audiologist in order for it to be effective.
Sound Therapy for Misophonia
Misophonia is best treated with a multidisciplinary approach (i.e., primary care physician, psychology, audiology). As Audiologists, we specialize in helping to rewire the auditory portion of the brain while calming the nervous system using prescriptive sound therapy. Over time, the ultimate goal of sound therapy is to help neutralize the trigger sounds so that the reflex response to them no longer occurs. Most patients without underlying damage to their auditory system can totally stop the misophonic reactions to their trigger sounds post-treatment. Careful guidance is needed by an experienced professional to help in this process.
Our team has over 50 years of experience working with all hearing aid styles and all of the hearing aid manufacturers – past and present. You will not be able to surprise us with anything – new or old.
We do require that you visit one of our eight locations (located in Colorado and Arizona) with your hearing aid so that we can see how it fits in your ear. While there may be a few cases where a hearing aid is beyond repair, most of the time can fix it quickly and at no charge.
We can fix hearing aids made by most manufacturers including Oticon, Phonak, ReSound, Widex, Starkey, and many more. If you bought Costco hearing aids or ordered hearing aids online, they may not be worth the cost of the repair. Wherever you purchased your devices, we can give you an honest opinion of whether an out-of-warranty repair is a wise investment or not.
If you are struggling with tinnitus - ringing in the ears, these resources are designed to help you find relief.
Dr. Julie Prutsman of Sound Relief details six self-help techniques to help manage your tinnitus.
For more tinnitus resources, please visit our Tinnitus Resources playlist on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKFvKGU_m7-NbSa_tTDqv852Vxh3O_vm-
If you are struggling with tinnitus - ringing in the ears, these resources are designed to help you find relief.
In this video, Dr. Julie Prutsman walks you through Guided Imagery for Tinnitus.
f you are struggling with tinnitus - ringing in the ears, these resources are designed to help you find relief.
Dr. Julie Prutsman demonstrates Progressive Muscle Relaxation for tinnitus.
These videos guide you on how to clean hearing aids by different manufacturers.
These videos also show how to Bluetooth pair hearing aids to an Apple iPhone.
There is also a video on Lyric self-insertion.