Isn’t that approaching the problem from the other direction? Hearing aids have some stigma because they’re not as widely needed as glasses before old age, but that’s not the primary reason why AirPods sell so the numbers are completely different. In my generation most of us have been talking about older Boomers relatives who’ve resisted visible acceptance of aging and pretty much everyone has been optimistic that they’ll use AirPods and wear an Apple Watch because those don’t telegraph “I’m elderly” the way hearing aids or one of those dedicated fall monitors do.
You said it yourself it's for a specific group of people.
Society will still think it's rude if someone they know who doesn't have a hearing problem under 40 doesn't take their ears out when trying to have a material conversation with them. It doesn't matter how many old people have airpods in. Because again - the younger group generally doesn't need it.
Taking your ears out is a sign of respect and showing attention like the article says.
I haven’t witnessed that dynamic: the people leaving their AirPods in tend to be young in my experience and it doesn’t seem to be seen as rude unless you’re ignoring the other person.
