These days, streaming at home is a great option to control your environment and set yourself up for movie viewing success. But I love going out to the movie theater. I think knowing my phone is on silent and the world has to wait for a couple hours while I enjoy a movie is a special sort of fun and relaxation. Here are my tips for a successful evening out at the movies.

As always, bring your ear plugs. Even if last time the movie theater was a great noise level, this movie’s sound may be mixed poorly. Or the staff member setting the volume cranks it up. I don’t know the exact reasons why, but the sound level seems to vary, and it is miserable not having the ear plugs when you need them.

I try to arrive early so I have time to get a captioning device. I live in a more rural area and typically attend smaller theaters, and I have yet to experience into a theater that doesn’t offer captioning devices. However, almost every time I ask for a captioning device, the staff member I am interacting with needs to get a higher up to procure the device and/or actually set it up. That all takes time, so I try to have a good cushion so I don’t miss the opening of the movie.

I also try to research the movie in advance. I have found certain styles of filming extremely uncomfortable. An example of this would be the Spiderverse movies. I hear they are great films, but the style chosen for making the movies does not work with my post surgery brain. I find it makes me both motion sick and gives me a headache. Not a pleasant experience. If I am interested in any non-traditional filming style movies I try to watch trailers in advance to gauge how they sit with me. It’s not always possible to tell how it will affect my vestibular system, but I can often make an educated guess.

I choose my seat carefully. I find that sitting too close to the screen can also give me motion sickness problems, especially in the more curved screen theaters. I try to pick a row that is in the middle or even closer to the back. Sometimes, I just have to move back a row or two and it makes a huge impact on my ability to enjoy the performance. I also sit with people who may want to whisper to me on my hearing side.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to share with your friends and family what you need to be successful. Yes, it’s a pain to make everyone stand up and move back a few rows if you find yourself feeling motion sick, but they would prefer you do that than that you are miserable the entire 2 hours. Remember that your people want this to be a fun and pleasant experience, and they don’t mind making some accommodations for your success.