Downs realized she needed to wear her hearing aid during her first singing competition. In her first attempt to become Miss Alabama, the music faded away.

"It was kind of my worst nightmare. I couldn't hear for my two-minute talent routine. I just had a lot of trouble, so from then on I made sure they knew to turn up the music. Of course, I started wearing hearing aids later," said Downs, who has moderate hearing loss.

She told Auburn University audiology students how she learned to cope with wearing hearing aids.

"We have a couple of our students that have significant hearing losses, and I think they're going through a lot of things she talked about this afternoon," said Dr. Sandra Clark-Lewis, associate clinical professor at AU's Department of Communication Disorders.

Downs said digital technology has improved to the point she can clearly hear even the most quiet of conversations. She also said younger people are more at-risk today of losing their hearing because of the growing trend of wearing earphones.

"With iPods and MP3 players, people are listening for longer amounts of time and much louder volumes. It's pretty dangerous when you can listen at full volume and in 15 minutes, in that short of time period, you can irrevocably damage your hearing," Downs said.

That's something you shouldn't take for granted.

"Once it happens, it's permanent," said Clark-Lewis.

Downs did not wear hearing aids growing up because of how she felt they looked and sounded. But now they're so small, it's hard to tell they're in your ear. She said she's in medical school to be a pediatrician and will help children realize there's no shame in wearing them.

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