I think that's more of a negative though. I always remove Airpods/earbuds if I'm in a situation when I may be interacting with others because otherwise I come across as rude, uninterested or unsocial, like having a "do not disturb" sign on.

Whereas I can see myself wearing a hearing aid (and probably need one) because people will recognize that I'm not trying to shut them out but I may have difficulty hearing.