[MUSIC PLAYING]
(SINGING)
MANDY HARVEY: I don't feel the way I used to.
ANNOUNCER: Mandy Harvey has carved out a very successful singing career, despite being deaf for over a decade. And the way Mandy has adjusted to her hearing loss tells us a lot about sensation.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Mandy dreamed of becoming a choir director and was enrolled in the music program at Colorado State University when a connective tissue disorder began to affect her hearing.
MANDY HARVEY: By Christmas I was legally deaf in both ears and getting fitted for hearing aids. I was sitting in music theory class with my new hearing aids and I was waiting to do a dictation test. And I'm looking around confused, and I'm seeing all these pencils moving. And one by one, other students got up and left. And the test was over and I was still waiting for it to start. And that was the last day I was a music major.
ANNOUNCER: Mandy's recovery began the day her father asked her to play guitar with him.
MANDY HARVEY: I thought this was kind of a crazy thing to ask, but OK. You're my dad, and we used to play guitar together all the time. And I could feel the vibrations on my chest and down my arm as I was playing the guitar. And I was like oh, this kind of cool. And then he said, would you learn a song to sing? It was just a dad trying to open a door of possibility.
So I got the little guitar tuner and every note, I would go one by one and wait till that little light turned green. I sat there for eight to 10 hours straight. I didn't even get up to pee. My dad came home. I just let go. And when I opened my eyes, my dad was crying and he's like, you did it. It was an understanding to myself that you don't need to hear to be involved with music.
ANNOUNCER: Soon, Mandy was ready to perform at a local open mic night.
MANDY HARVEY: My biggest fear was always losing my hearing, and that happened and I survived. So what's the worst that could happen here?
ANNOUNCER: Mandy has performed for adoring crowds ever since. On stage, she maintains close contact with her bandmates to stay in sync. And she relies heavily on her sense of touch.
MANDY HARVEY: I can feel the different instruments, the drums through the floor, the base through your chest, the higher frequencies you can feel on your skin. There are specific notes that buzz in your nasal cavity, and some that rumble in your chest.
ANNOUNCER: Mandy's success is a testament to the power of neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to reorganize itself to compensate for a sensory deficit. But Mandy believes these are skills we could all tap into.
MANDY HARVEY: You hear the wind, but you felt it first and you smelled it first. You know, it hits your skin. You can't even escape that. I don't feel like you have to lose a sense for those to get heightened, you just need to pay attention more.
ANNOUNCER: Today, Mandy has a recently published book, four albums to her name, a repertoire of original songs, and appearances on "Americas Got Talent" that have captivated audiences around the world. But her journey is far from over.
MANDY HARVEY: I'm hoping that people will start paying attention to music's touch and not just saying that you can't enjoy music because you can't hear it. Every time you fall and you fail you learn something new about yourself, and you have an opportunity to grow and to improve.
(SINGING)
Have I tried? Have I tried? Ooooh.
[MUSIC PLAYING]