Music and sensitivities

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Has anyone ever been in a situation where they've had to try to explain one of their sensitivities to something, only to have their music choices used against them?
I listen to metal. Mostly eclectic metal (like symphonic metal, folk metal, and eve n a cappella metal), but it's still metal. I am also really sensitive to loud noise, sudden bangs, sirens, ect. I watched Pacific Rim in the theater with my friends, and the volume was up so loud that during the fight scenes I had to pull my headphones out of my bag (actual headphones for music, not earbuds) and put them on to try and muffle the screeching sounds of giant robots fighting monsters.
But whenever I'm having issues related to loud sounds (like renovations), it always gets pointed out that I listen to metal music, I can't be bothered by loud sounds. Like some how my taste in music means that I'm automatically disqualified from having sound sensitivities? There's a difference between volume and intensity! Also, it's music, it has beat and rhythm and is, in a way, predictable.
Has anyone else ever run into this kind of issue, and how did/would you deal with it?

That's interesting, because although I hate metal, I can fall asleep to it. It's because of the volume being loud but all compressed, not much variation. Movies have high dynamic range audio, and possibly level expansion going on as well (a Dolby thing maybe?) Metal played on a cheap sound system is basically modified white noise and mushy as far as levels, and movie audio ranges from zero to above OSHA limits.

This makes perfect sense to me, and using your preference for metal against you is just a put-down.

I'm noise sensitive and enjoy music, there is a limit to the loudness based on time spent, like at a club or concert. I have to limit my headphone time but only use them when exercising. I recently had a construction noise that I've cannot identify that was loud and like fingernails on the blackboard, the pain went thru the back of my neck like a jolt.


My current fear is getting tinnitus.

Yes. I have debilitating misophonia for small noises like squeaks or crinkling things, people talking, traffic reports, etc. I can go kind of nuts because of them - completely unable to cope. I do like loud music including hard rock, punk, and metal. I've been to quite a few big indoor concerts. People don't understand and think I must be faking the concerts or the misophonia. They aren't the same thing or the same sound at all. Likewise people say "wear earplugs in public!" but nope, earplugs dampen the big noises but allow you to continue hearing softer sounds like background voices. That's the opposite of what I need.

Oh - and I also have 24/7 tinnitus, mostly likely from an OZZY concert but we don't really know why. It's been 14 years now nonstop.

Speaking of misophonia - it's time to break open the tinfoil on my fireplace and freeze. I can't stand it anymore.

I can too, but I don't usually tell people that. And honestly, metal is more like the experimental genre, sort of like rock was back in the 60's. And not all metal is the loud blaring guitars and screaming and stuff. I don't know if you've listened to any of the metal genres I've listed, but there are some really great band to check out.
Nightwish is symphonic metal, the song that made them big in America was Nemo, but my favorites are The Escapist and How's the Heart.
Eluveitie and Korpiklaani are both folk metal. Eluveitie is neat because they sing some songs in old Gaelic, the language of the continental celts. My favorite Eluveitie songs are Epona, Omnos, and Call of the Mountains. Korpiklaani is Finnish and best known in America for their drinking songs, but I love their folk songs about the little Finnish town they come from, particularly Ammanhauta and Sanaton Maa.
You might like Van Canto, even though they're metal a Capella, because they got their start with a lot of rock songs. I love their cover of Fear of the Dark and Primo Victoria (by Swedish metal band Sabaton, which does a lot of songs about historical battles) and their original song, Bardcall.

Have you heard Kenny Håkansson/Kebnekajse?
While not quite metal, I think that you may like it.


/Mats