DEAR ABBY: I recently reconnected with an acquaintance who has now become a dear friend. I have at least one meal a week with her and her family. I suffer from misophonia, and they are always quite in tune, asking if the volume is too loud on the TV or whatever.
However, while we are eating, there is a lot of lip-smacking and open-mouth chewing by my friend and her 17-year-old daughter. I love them, and I try to ignore it, but it’s extremely difficult. I remember my friend doing this 20 years ago when we were teenagers.
I know it’s not my place, but is there anything that can be said? I worry about this girl heading off to college soon with such deplorable table manners. They are otherwise wonderful, amazing friends. — HEARS TOO MUCH IN NEW YORK
DEAR HEARS: I agree that atrocious table manners can be a handicap when young people fly the nest. You can, as tactfully as possible, remind your friend ONCE about your hearing disorder and that it is magnified when she and her daughter chew with their mouths open. If that doesn’t help, however, you may have to stop being a dinner guest.
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