Tech guy's response to my request

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Early this afternoon I had an incident happen at my congregation during praise and worship. This is due to the music playing over the speakers has been unusually loud. It has been that way the last several times I have been there.
I hope this did not set the guy off by saying
"Not to be rude or anything but the music is hurting my ears."

The tech person seemed to talk back by cutting me off.
"Well you are too loud and we had to turn it up for that reason. Also it's louder because there are people who can't hear very well. If you don't like it move to the back."

I ended up leaving the situation in tears. I also feel that if I was so loud that someone should have approached me about it.

However did I sound a little too harsh to tip him off?

Most sound engineers are just volunteers who know where things get plugged in. Their egos let them believe that they are important and that their desired volume level is ideal. The musicians tend to agree with these engineers because their egos like louder volumes, too. The only people who matter, the audience, are typically dismissed as cranks if they disagree with the volume level.

Real, professional sound engineers know that the ideal volume level should seem invisible to the audience. In other words, the audience shouldn't notice that the volume is too loud or too quiet.

It is too bad that your comment was dismissed. Professional stagehands look for ways to please the audience because they know that they are out of work without the audiences. Unfortunately, even the best stagehands are paid by the musicians who usually believe that louder is better.

Walking out and asking for a refund is the best way to convince the venue, the musicians and their stagehands that they were wrong. But, in a church setting, I suspect that simply leaving wouldn't educate anyone. Speaking directly to the church leaders, especially when they ask for donations, is the best way to get your point across.

Of course, you could write to them anonymously and try to explain how many people with ASDs can't enjoy loud sounds.

^^^ True this. I've run into this before at "churchish" thingys.
Volume is not my friend.

I refused to argue with him and did not attempt to call him out or confront him. In fact I just ignored him the rest of the time and allowed myself to cry. I also sat through service and calmed down. Afterwards I did what I could to avoid the guy if he was going to treat me like that.

Instead I grabbed some lunch down stairs and was able to find some other people to talk with and had a pleasant time. I was also to talk it over with a few others about the situation and they understood.

Did he mean you are too loud as in you personally, or you as in all of you people in the room? I thought he meant the latter when I first read it, before I read the rest.

Earplugs. At some point you have to take a little responsibility for managing your own sensory issues.

Have you considered joining a different church? One where they won't gang up you if you have a complaint? One where the tech guy is not a headbanging yahoo?

As a Pentecostal, I can tell you that they tend to believe that louder volume = closer to God.

I suggest wearing ear plugs in church. If anyone asks, be honest (but not ugly) about it.

Musicians and sound crews are nice, but most churches use them as a crutch for worship.

I am looking at another place but by public transit the total time would getting to and fro would be 4 hour round trip. I have some other ideas that I am considering.

Does anyone else wonder if this could be a mild form of bullying and oppression because I am different? Especially if he will not respect where I am coming from in telling me where I need to stand.

At the same time there were other people in the congregation who saw me get hurt and cry about his actions and allow me to cry on their shoulder.

Question; Is the music tech person an "older" person?

Yes he sure is. I would say he is in his 60's or 70's?

Ah-ha, your church and my church kind of seem to have the same problem (at least from what my parents have said). The person who works the sound board at my church fiddles with it even when the praise band has it set perfectly and it becomes too loud or just sounds weird. Still seems to do it even though my mother (who is in the band) and the band tell him to not touch it and from what I've heard he got upset a few times over it. I think that at their age they are set in their ways with no hope of changing and think that age always equals wisdom that must be followed without question.

I'm sorry to hear that that happened to you, especially at a church. I hope things work out for you in one way or another.