My FIL does this and it makes no sense. I assume it’s because although he says he wants us to visit, he doesn’t want to actually engage with us. His hearing is fine, he’d just rather listen to the TV than us. |
Not OP-Oh, without question. I do generally still need to go over and spend time with them. |
We come late and leave early. It keeps everyone happy! |
Omg - this was my thanksgiving! Without the brightness. My parents are in the low light phase (not sure if this is common). It was hot, dim, and loud. Then my parents get mad that no one is talking. |
My mom’s house is freezing during the day (she’s an “add another sweater” type) but- and this is monstrous- she cranks the heat at night! She also has a bedroom in the 1st floor so the upstairs guest room becomes stifling. So imagine she’s sleeping in 75-80 degree warmth and us guests are slowly roasting to death under flannel Christmas sheets under a peaked ceiling. We are not there this year but I feel panicked just thinking about it. My mom also wakes early (4:30/5 am) and is one of those people who becomes louder the more she tries to be quiet. She’ll unload a dishwasher, cook, make coffee, go out to the garage 3x to check to other freezer, and walk back and forth in soled shoes on hardwoods. If she hears someone stir she’ll make a big production of trying to shut doors to keep things quiet, but that just wakes us all up for good. |
The dimness! My mom doesn’t use overhead lights much anymore so every room where light might be helpful- kitchen and laundry room included- is lit by little decorative shaded lamps that she sits on the counters. It’s cozy, but also like living in some storybook woodland creature’s tree stump hideaway. |
| Stump hideaway!! Thanks for the laugh 😂 |
| Dress in layers. Peel them away as you overheat. |
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Some years ago, we all were staying in a giant cabin for Christmas, in the middle of nowhere. No cable (which just about killed my tv-addict father), but it had a tv/dvd combo.
So he brought a bunch of action movies. And played them loudly (partially deaf, refused to wear a hearing aid). Until my aunt (his sister) started dancing in front of the tv, some combo of the Charleston and jazzercise, to the sounds of car chases and loud action music, stepping side to-side so he couldn’t see. And then they started screaming at each other. Good times , but that mental image will stay with me forever.
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Ha!!! That reminds me of my mom. Man I miss her. |
DP. This might not having anything to do with being intentionally rude. This could be a cognitive issue. |
| A big trend is refusing to wear hearing aids or refusing to get checked and needing hearing aids. Why are we paying so much Medicare for boomers again? |
Medicare pays nothing for hearing aids. And they are insanely overpriced for the technology they provide. |
It isn’t a trend. Medicare and most suplemental insurance retirees use does NOT cover hearing aids or covers a very small amount like $300. Hearing aids can cost up to $6500 and to have to remember to charge them every night. They have to be programmed correctly and if you also wear glasses they can be uncomfortable. If you have dexterity problems they also can be tricky to properly insert. I took my mom to Costco and she got hearing aids and she rarely wore them. Then years later when it was so noticeable her hearing was awful and her TV was so loud she couldn’t hear her phone ringing I found out there are insertable hearing aids that you wear for around 8 to 10 weeks then you go back to the audiologist and get a new pair like disposable contact lenses. You can’t see them when they are inserted so my mom loved it because no one can tell she wears hearing aids. https://www.phonak.com/en-us/hearing-devices/hearing-aids/lyric Only 10% of audiologist are trained to insert them and you have to pay a yearly fee. I think my mom pays around $3600 a month. She didn’t want to pay at first but luckily in several states there is a free 30 day trial. $300 a month is worth being able to hear! |
| ^Around $3600 a year not month for lyric hearing aids! |