It's definitely anecdotal, but I know probably 30+ people who own Airpods and have never heard of anyone losing or having to have them replaced for any reason.
Except all the people that have to replace them when the battery lifetime expires. You can take as much care as you want with airpods, they will need replacing and you'll need to fork out again.
All you have to do is put them in the case whenever you aren't wearing them. The case isn't so small that you're going to lose it. Plus, that way they're always charging.
I used to be scared to lose mine while running. They never came close to falling out. Also the new generation of the AirPods is more secure in the ear.
Buying $100+ pair of headphones that are the size of a kidney bean with no strings attached doesn't really seem ridiculous. It's pretty hard to lose old apple wired headphones or real cans like my Bose QuietComforts. I don't have to worry@!
That's all that's stopping me from buying this and other premium products. I love premium products but not if I have to replace them every year.