A deaf singer has revealed the threats she has faced from her own community.
The BBC reports Mandy Harvey lost her hearing through Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and was legally deaf by theage of 19.
The disability forced her out of a college music programme and her musical career was put on hold.
But after learning how to manage her deafness and continue performing, Ms Harvey faced backlash within the deaf community.
Ms Harvey says the community frowns on her performing her music and singing at activities popular in the "hearing world".
"When you're doing something that is living inside the hearing world, such as music and singing, it can be frowned upon, because we're supposed to be encouraging ASL [American Sign Language] only," she told the BBC.
After losing her hearing, Ms Harvey was initially unable to sing, before learning how to stay in tune with the help of an electric tuner.
She worked her way up from small shows to touring and recording albums, before eventually appearing on America's Got Talent.
Her performance on the NBC show was impressive enough to garner a golden buzzer from Simon Cowell.
This put her through to the final, where she eventually finished fourth.
Newshub.
