When I got my first pair of glasses at age 6, they were big, clunky things that covered a third of my face and were heavy in the bargain. As soon as I was old enough, I traded them in for contact lenses.

Nowadays, eyeglasses are not just stylish, they’re downright chic. Sophia Loren started the trend with a fabulous array of specs. Meryl Streep, who is 65, often wears glasses, but so do younger stars like Alicia Keys, 34, Jennifer Aniston, 46, and Anne Hathaway, 32. When Sarah Palin appeared on the scene as John McCain’s running mate, there was more talk about her spectacular rimless glasses than there was about her political positions — at least at first.

And now hearing aids are finally getting some attention. One of the major online hearing aid retailers, Audicus.com, has partnered with Advanced Style to offer stylish new hearing aids for women in a variety of designs, including sparkles, polka dots and leopard prints, which are interchangeable with adhesive stickers. In the Advanced Style video they look like little jewels in the box.

Cochlear implants are already offered in an array of designs. …

Read more of this post about hearing aid style and cochlear implants, and why the beautiful Maggie Gyllenhaal is the illustration, at AARP: Healthy Hearing….