We keep answering for my uncle because he can't hear the waiter. How do we help without taking over?
Family“I wanted the other soup,” Uncle Ravi said after my cousin ordered for him.
Ravi has hearing loss and uses hearing aids. We were at a noisy restaurant, and he asked the waiter to repeat the choices. My cousin jumped in with, “He'll have the usual.” Ravi didn't correct her until the bowls arrived.
When I suggested asking him before answering, she said she was trying to avoid holding up the table. She often helps him hear questions at family meals, and he sometimes asks her to repeat things. This time he hadn't asked her to choose.
We are booking another birthday dinner. Ravi says he wants to come but doesn't want a speech about his hearing in front of everyone. He has asked whether we can choose somewhere quieter. My cousin thinks he should let us handle ordering if the room is busy.
What would useful help look like, and how do we change the next dinner without making him the problem everyone is organising around?