In the 1920s a glimpse of stocking was said to be shocking. In the 60s it was the mini.Yet, even in the enlightened 70s a kid wearing glasses seemed to shock somewhat and was often ridiculed. But now look at glasses and the market for them!

Arguably RayBan paved the way for making specs cool in the 80s and since then optician chains and independents alike have been playing catch-up with the often higher profile promotions from the stronger multiples.

Now these brands are starting to make in-roads in to the hearing market. Or should I say the ‘hidden hearing’ market, because they seem to want you to hide your light under a bushel, alongside their product and brand.

Like spectacles used to say about you, hearing aids – and just saying these words communicates the need for medical assistance – says you are in some way lacking.

But why should it remain so? Why should you be shamed in to growing your hair longer? Wearing a hat for every occasion? Wearing a beanie in the heat of the summer? And so on.

Being loud, proud and aligned to a hearing aid brand could be cool.

Surely, the brand that does steal such a march on the market will be seen to own its positioning, gain fans and market share. By bringing their designs out in to the open, maybe even embellishing them with the equivalent of go faster stripes, 4WD graphics or GTI style monikers, but certainly adorning them with the brand character, personality and attributes, along with some admired advanced functionality and values, that will acquire the brand loyalty before future entrants come in to the marketplace.

There is a younger crowd with hearing loss who will attach their allegiance to such a brand. But we are all living longer and those in their 50s and 60s, will similarly do so. They have a very different outlook to those of the same age 20 or 30 years ago. They do not have one foot in the grave, they may just loose some of their hearing, but they still want to be brand advocates of cooler brands; from trainers to cars, glasses and…hearing aids. It’ll take a brave brand and a brave agency to bring it to the fore, but it can be done and, I am convinced, will gain a following from a multiplicity of audience ages for their innovative brand, across all media platforms and break the taboo in the process.

Technology has moved-on in every area, be it in hearing, seeing or even prosthetic aids. So running blades are way cooler than a leg in some quarters, despite the terrible earlier circumstances of limb loss. So could we be talking in the same vein about hearing aids, as glasses, in a few years’ time or even sooner?

Designs are already sleeker, technology is more advanced and Google even have the bulbous viewfinder end to their glasses, from which surely it wouldn’t be beyond the wit of man or woman to to take a similar model and fashion a hybrid ‘seeing-hearing’ frame for the future?

So let’s pave the way now for some great brand development now and dismiss the fact that any brand and product in the hearing marketplace has to be positioned as hidden and those affected can be proud of saying we are not ‘hard of hearing’ but hearing hard!