[glennonymous]

There’s an additional factor to this that the “leaving your AirPods in when talking to someone is rude” crowd don’t realize: AirPods are actually very effective hearing aids. (https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11/study-airpods-pro-ar...)

This is how I use them. I have moderate hearing impairment and a modest budget, and have been hesitant to plunk down thousands of dollars for decent hearing aids. When I realized the $250 earphones I already had were really good hearing aids, and figured out how to set them up that way, it was life-transforming.

I do try to take a minute to explain to people that my AirPods help me to hear, when I think about it. But if you suffer from stuffy judgments that people who wear AirPods are inconsiderate a-holes, you might want to think twice about that.