An "easy" solution then is for hearing aids to look like earbuds; that would normalize hearing aid; but then if you have to spend $5K on them, do you really want them to look like everyday earbuds? Quandary!
Not exactly, because it's less socially acceptable to wear AirPods in meetings and other group conversation settings, especially if people think that you're wearing them because you're actually hearing something from them. Many / most people put away their AirPods when they're in such settings, but it's exactly in those settings when people with hearing loss need their hearing aids the most.
Yes, I agree. We made our SmartEarrings™ for situations where AirPods and earbuds are not socially acceptable. And yet, in discussing hearing aids, I forgot that AirPods-as-hearing aids won't work precisely for that reason: the social cost of wearing hearables in meetings.