She lost her hearing 16 years ago because of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder. It was devastating news, especially for a 19-year-old who started singing when she was four and had never dreamed of doing anything other than pursuing a career in music.

The most difficult challenge was figuring out how to get on with everyday life, she says, in an interview with the Post.

“There is bound to be fear and anxiety when your world shifts so dramatically – like being afraid of the dark and not being able to hear people come up behind you when walking outside. I had to relearn how to feel secure and to feel OK, just being,” she says.

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Doing anything music-related seemed implausible at first. Harvey tried to study early childhood education until her dad suggested that she try playing the guitar again.

“I didn’t want to in the beginning, but eventually agreed because my dad and I used to play guitar all the time and it was kind of our way of bonding. It was our way of communicating,” she says.

Playing the guitar after losing her hearing opened up a new world of experiencing music.

“I started to feel and pay attention to the vibrations on the strings that were on my fingertips, because there’s no sound or any other distractions. It was a reminder for me that just because I’m experiencing music in a different way, it doesn’t mean that music does not exist for me any more.”

She then started to sing again with the help of a guitar tuner. Harvey would make sounds until the tuner blinked green, indicating that she was on key. She would repeat the process over and over again until she went through a whole song.

It took her more than 10 hours to sing the first song that she ever sang after losing hearing, which was Come home by OneRepublic.

Nearly 16 years later, singing and making music is still a very arduous process for her. For many, music is a means to unwind and relax. For Harvey, music requires her to be fully present, focused and intentional every second.

“Compared to before, I focus a lot more on the lyrics and the meaning of songs. I never learn songs if they don’t have any value or significance, because then it’s not worth the 10 hours needed to learn the song,” Harvey says.

She travels around the world performing and sharing her story of overcoming profound challenges, and the joy, pain and meaning that come with doing so. This itself is a challenge, not only because she has to leave her toddler and husband behind, but because her body is still brittle from her medical condition.

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“I chose a career that requires me to travel excessively. I deal with constant pain, constant dislocation, constant therapy, physical therapy, constant bruising, constant lack of circulation, constant physical trauma. Yet I do it in order to follow my heart of being able to share with other people. I know it’s worth the struggle.”

What keeps her going is knowing that countless people find hope and strength from her story, which they use to fight their own battles.

Her ukulele case is full of different items people have shared with her over the years. A US$2 dollar bill on which a person wrote, “Thank you for helping to save my life”, is one.

Her trip to Hong Kong is part of her ongoing mission.

She is performing with the True Colors Symphony, the largest inclusive orchestra in Hong Kong, composed of over 200 members who range widely in age, from seven to 70 years old. The disabilities that the members have vary widely too, from visual and auditory impairment to physical disabilities and autism.

“I get to be a part of something magical. What I find as big benefits from an event like this is that it’s not just one-directional. Yes, we’re fundraising for musicians and students who have different disabilities. Yes, we’re changing minds and starting conversations,” Harvey says.

“But the part that we don’t always remember is that we are telling all of those people with disabilities that people care and that there are opportunities for you. It allows them to dream. It allows them to work harder, it allows them to push farther and so they become more of an active member of society.”

Harvey says she’s now at peace with everything that happened and wouldn’t change anything. But it was a long way to get to this point, and that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still experience days of struggle and pain.

“Is it worth it? Yes. Am I happy? Yes. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t have days when I cried or mourned the loss. But there was a girl yesterday at one of the schools I visited in Hong Kong who was asking me, ‘How do you keep getting up from the floor when it feels like the world is crushing you to death?’ She was 14 years old.

“To know that you get to hold a place in her mind whenever she wants to give up is significant to me.”

“True Colors Symphony: Everyday Heroes All Around!”, Concert Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 3pm and 7:30pm, Nov. 5. Tickets available at Urbtix.