Living from tinnitus, hyperacusis, hearing loss, or all of the above? Experience the difference
experience makes at Sound Relief Tinnitus & Hearing Center Highlands Ranch. Colorado-based,
family-owned, and operated, we are dedicated to providing a higher standard of care today for a
healthier tomorrow. Our vast experience with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy - TRT - allows us to help
thousands of patients each year get control of their tinnitus and experience life-changing results.
Megan earned her B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Abilene Christian University. She worked in elementary education as both an interpreter in a deaf education classroom and as a speech pathology assistant. Following this, Dr. Read obtained her Doctorate of Audiology degree from the University of Colorado.
Prior to joining the Sound Relief team, Dr. Read worked in a neurotology practice for where she received specialized training in the management of tinnitus and sound sensitivity disorders under Dr. Pawel Jastreboff, Ph.D., Sc.D. Megan loves both the art and science of tinnitus treatment and truly enjoys helping patients in their unique hearing health journey. Her desire has always been to educate and empower her patients by working together to maximize access to communication.
Outside of work, Megan enjoys exploring her creative side and trying new recipes. She also loves walking the many trails in Highlands Ranch with her husband, their three children, and two dogs.
Brandi Greenhouse earned her undergraduate degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver (2008) and her Doctorate of Audiology (Au.D.) from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Louisiana (2015). Dr. Greenhouse sees patients in the Highlands Ranch, CO office.
Brandi was inspired to join the field of Audiology by her aunt who has been an Audiologist for nearly 30 years. Her desire to work in the healthcare industry and help people is what drew her to the profession. Brandi is passionate and dedicated to improving the quality of life for her patients through exceptional hearing healthcare.
Brandi is a Colorado native, and while she misses Louisiana and the wonderful people, music, and food, she is grateful to be back in her home State. When she is not working, she spends her time with her son, husband, cats, her dog, Cooper, and her chickens. She enjoys hiking, biking, camping, off-roading, and creating music with her family.
Dr. Julie Prutsman is a third-generation audiologist and the owner and founder of Sound Relief Hearing Center.
Julie earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Marietta College and her master’s degree in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences from the University of Colorado. She then went on to get her doctoral degree in audiology from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry’s School of Audiology.
Dr. Julie is also a member of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology, the American Academy of Audiology, the International Hearing Society, and the American Tinnitus Association.
Julie grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado where she and her husband, Patrick, opened the first Sound Relief Hearing Center location. They now have two children. In her free time, she loves to read, travel, ski, and spend time with family.
Amanda La Voy is the Audiology Assistant and Team Lead for our “South” Colorado offices (Highlands Ranch, Centennial, and Golden). Amanda was born and raised in Northern California but has called Colorado home since the spring of 2018. Amanda first joined our team as the Patient Care Coordinator in our Highlands Ranch office and felt the call to expand her audiological knowledge to further help our patients. She’s currently taking classes at Nova Southeastern University to complete her audiology assistant certification. When not in the office Amanda spends her free time exploring Colorado with her fiancé, Adam, and son, Jonas. If you’ve been seen in Highlands Ranch, you’ll know Amanda is always running around. She’s currently in pursuit of completing the 6 World Major Marathon races (London, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago, Boston, and New York). She’s currently received two of her six stars for the Majors.
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.