Rachmaninoff rights

This afternoon the orchestra played a "run-out" in a tiny burg north of Indy. It was one of those concerts they tack onto a week when some far-flung rich person gives the orchestra money. We had already played this heavy program three times, so it was disheartening to see the small venue with half an audience. Why drag us up here to play for nobody in a high school auditorium, when we really wanted to rest our arms and brains? (I shouldn't complain--I'm on vacation for a week now!)
Anyway, it became clear within minutes of starting the concert that an audience member seated close to the stage had some kind of oxygen apparatus that made a sharp hissing noise every few seconds. It almost sounded like a cymbal swipe. My initial reaction was annoyance: this person should be asked to leave, or at least sit further away from the stage. As musicians, we often discuss the rudeness of noisy audiences (and uninformed audiences who applaud enthusiastically and inappropriately between movements). How dare they disturb the mood with their tubercular coughs and cell phones and hearing aid whistles and conversation and rustling programs! After about 15 minutes of allowing myself to be distracted by the whoosh of this unfortunate individual's machinery, I realized that I was practicing discrimination of some kind. How would I feel if my daughter were told she couldn't remain at a concert because of her disability? Why do I think that we are so special that we can command complete silence at the discomfort of our audience? Isn't music for the audience? At the same time, isn't the audience entitled to enough quiet to be able to listen without distraction? With all this running through my mind, I'm glad I didn't make a wrong entrance. Fortunately I have enough experience to be able to play large swathes of music while daydreaming. However, the question remains--whose rights are most important? In this particular situation, I decided that this oxygen-toting invalid came to the concert to experience something outside xemself, and that I should be able to put that sound into the background of my mind, just as xe has to all day every day. After a while I stopped really noticing the sound, an concentrated on doing my job, which is making good music, not making bad judgments.