Joey Lynn Resciniti's first lesson on childhood hearing loss was a speech banana printed on glossy paper with bright red X's and O's. Her daughter, Julia, was almost 3 years old. The speech banana showed that she had not been hearing most of the conversation in the house. She had not heard the birds singing outside or the whoosh of traffic along the busy road. The clinical term that described this was "moderate sensorineural hearing loss." This article tells Julia's story, and her journey through understanding and self-advocacy.