Irmo, SC (Paul Kirby) – Members of the Hearing Loss Association of America Midland’s Chapter have been working with a local theater to bring open captioned movies to our area. In the past, if someone who was hearing impaired wanted to see a movie on the big screen, they had to use special devices that worked mediocre at best. These are newly released, first run movies with captions scrolling across the bottom just as a hearing-impaired person would use on their television at home.
According to David Bitters with the Hearing Loss Association of America Midland’s Chapter, a great deal of effort has gone into getting a local theater to provide this service for the hearing impaired. They have partnered with AMC Harbison 14 to beginning showing these captioned movies on the fourth Saturday of each month. In January, the group voted from several movies available and the latest Star Wars sequel was selected.
Bitters said recently that this was a major step forward for the hearing impaired of the area. Now, people who have a significant hearing loss can enjoy a movie with friends, family, or someone they love just as a person without the impairment could.
People interested in attending can go online to the theater’s website to reserve seating. A small fee is added for on-line reservations. Otherwise, the cost of tickets are just $5.35 each and that includes all applicable taxes. If you wait and buy your ticket at the door, there’s no guarantee you’ll get one. Sales are on a first come first served basis and when they are sold out, that’s it!
Harbison AMC 14 is located 122 Afton Court in Columbia, SC. This is close to the Columbiana Center Mall. These captioned shows start at 11:30 a.m.
To have some input into which movies are shown, you can join the Hearing Loss Association of America Midland’s Chapter. You can check their Facebook page about 10 days in advance of the fourth Saturday to see what will be playing that month. You can like and follow their Facebook page by looking for Columbia SC OC Movies.
