Can I ask for quieter family dinners while I wait for a hearing check?
Health"Shall we get subtitles for dinner?" my daughter joked after I asked her to repeat a birthday plan.
I laughed, then agreed to the wrong date.
Over the past year I have found crowded tables harder to follow. One person talking to me is usually easier. I have booked a hearing assessment for next month, but my son has already sent me a hearing-aid sale, and my husband keeps asking whether I heard every sentence. I feel observed rather than included.
[NIDCD suggests facing the person speaking and reducing background noise when hearing is difficult](https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/age-related-hearing-loss). I would like to ask for the television to be off at Sunday dinner and for people to get my attention before changing the subject. I am not asking the family to decide what is happening to my hearing.
My daughter chose a busy restaurant for her birthday, and I do not want my request to become a veto on her celebration. How can I ask for help now while keeping the assessment, and any decisions after it, mine?