Ruben, a heavy metal drummer, starts losing his hearing and must face a future of silence. His girlfriend, Lou, wants him to stop performing, but Ruben is determined to continue. Lou finds a community for deaf recovering addicts, where Ruben must learn to accept his new reality. He connects with a teacher, Diane, and the children in her class, and starts to learn sign language. Ruben sells his equipment to get cochlear implant surgery, but is disappointed by the results. He reunites briefly with Lou before deciding to embrace the silence by removing his implants.

A passionate news reporter rallies against the epidemic of gun violence, yet fails to notice the symptoms in her own family.