It has been a while since I considered glasses as a medical necessity, I have also thought of it as someone’s style. I remember there being some associations or connotations with wearing glasses in school, but it was never viewed in the same way as something like a hearing aid. I currently have perfect vision (at least for now :p), but I’ve always seen glasses as something that adds character to a person and how they present themselves. In fact, I’ve even wanted to try wearing glasses (not sunglasses) because they just look cool. The John Lennon glasses, in particular, still seem timeless to me.
This made me wonder why the same hasn’t been done for other devices like hearing aids, and even if they have, why they aren’t as popular as eyewear. I remember an aunt back home who sometimes refused to wear her hearing aid because she didn’t want to be seen as using a “medical apparatus.” Reading about the history of how spectacles shifted from being seen as a “medical necessity” to eyewear was truly eye-opening. It really comes down to perception – how these devices are designed, marketed, and sold to the public.