I didn't look at the OP or know their history, so I took the question at face value. I don't see the point in questioning if someone wears AirPods as hearing ai

I didn't look at the OP or know their history, so I took the question at face value. I don't see the point in questioning if someone wears AirPods as hearing aids, or just pretends to, or wears them for some other reason. As an older person with some hearing loss I look forward to the hearing aid features for my AirPod Pros, but I may also have Judas Priest blasting and just passing myself off as hearing-impaired. In either case that's no one's business. Re-reading the original question maybe I misunderstood. OP seems to ask if hearing-impaired people will use AirPods to improve their hearing, but then "lie" about that, presumably out of embarrassment. If I wear AirPods to improve my hearing, and then someone asks if that's why I wear them, I can't think of a reason to lie about that. Maybe OP thinks that because modern hearing aids can hide pretty well in the ear, but everyone can see AirPods. I will guess that OP hasn't reached the age when one notices hearing loss. Do people wear contact lenses to hide their deficient vision? Perhaps, but I think convenience explains it well enough. In any case asking someone if they wear AirPods because they have hearing problems strikes me as rude, not deserving an answer, not something I would lie about. I understand that in some situations wearing earbuds or headphones, especially noise-canceling models, can put the wearer in a dangerous situation. I live in SE Asia where people wear earbuds and don't pay attention when crossing the street -- a potentially deadly behavior. If I could prevent an injury I would, and it wouldn't matter in the moment if the person wore AirPods to listen to music or as hearing aids.