Jessica Defenderfer, PhD, AuD

Jessica Defenderfer, AuD, PhD, CCC-A is a clinical audiologist at Advantage ENT & Audiology. Jessica serves patients in and around Wheat Ridge and Arvada, Colorado.

Jessica received her Bachelor of Science in Educational Interpreting with Sign Language from the University of Tennessee in 2010. After her undergraduate studies, she worked at the Tennessee School for the Deaf (TSD) for three years, working closely with deaf and hard of hearing students (K-12) as their tutor, mentor and coach. Her experiences at TSD inspired her to continue her education in the field of Audiology. 

Jessica earned her Doctor of Audiology from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2023. She is licensed in the state of Colorado and maintains her Certificate of Clinical Competence by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Jessica loves working with patients in the clinic and specializes in audiological testing, diagnostics and hearing aid fittings to treat both hearing loss and/or tinnitus. 

Jessica is very interested in hearing research and earned her Ph.D. in Hearing Science in 2022. Her research focused on the neuro-physiological effect of listening effort by tracking changes in pupil size (pupillometry) and brain activity using a non-invasive imaging tool called Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS).

When not at work, Jessica enjoys being outside running, walking, camping or riding bikes. She loves all sorts of artistic activities. Most recently, she has enjoyed learning how to make pots, cups and planters on her pottery wheel.