[Teever]

I can't recall which episode it is exactly, but there's a Seinfeld episode where he's doing a standup bit in the opening sequence where he's talking about how glasses are a thing that are associated with intelligence and style while hearing aids are not.

Coincidentally I was thinking about this but yesterday and how it relates to Bluetooth earbuds. Somehow Apple managed to make hearing aids cool.

It crossed my mind when I was thinking about a coworkers hearing aids and if they were ever picked on as a child for wearing them. I bet that the rise of earbuds has made life a lot easier for children who are hard of hearing.

[bigstrat2003]

> Somehow Apple managed to make hearing aids cool.

Just like with all fashion things, the causality goes the other way. People think Apple is cool, so when Apple does a thing they think that thing is cool.

[KineticLensman]

> I was thinking about a coworkers hearing aids

For info: I started wearing hearing aids later in life. Couldn't function without them and the occasional glance people give them is nothing compared with being thought stupid because you apparently haven't understood something (people seem much more likely to assume you are stupid rather than deaf).

Even though they are free ('socialised') medicine - UK NHS here - they are still functional blue tooth devices that can stream audio, etc, which is awesome.

[atestu]

AirPods were widely ridiculed by the press when they first came out. Lots of online comments about q tips and “tech bros.” Idk when or what changed but they became cool a year or so later… not sure about the timing but they weren’t an overnight sensation.