diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index 7b6ed64..8db1602 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -4,6 +4,14 @@ Changelog
 Upcoming
 --------
 
+v0.16.2
+-------
+
+- Add ``raise_on_unsupported_wav`` parameter to ``MediaFile.__init__`` to
+  optionally raise ``FileTypeError`` for WAV files containing non-PCM audio
+  streams (``WAVE_FORMAT_MPEGLAYER3``, ``WAVE_FORMAT_ADPCM``,
+  ``WAVE_FORMAT_ALAW``, ``WAVE_FORMAT_MULAW``).
+
 v0.16.1
 -------
 
diff --git a/mediafile/__init__.py b/mediafile/__init__.py
index fb90e11..5d1bfcc 100644
--- a/mediafile/__init__.py
+++ b/mediafile/__init__.py
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ class MediaFile:
     """
 
     @loadfile()
-    def __init__(self, filething, id3v23=False):
+    def __init__(self, filething, id3v23=False, raise_on_unsupported_wav=False):
         """Constructs a new `MediaFile` reflecting the provided file.
 
         `filething` can be a path to a file (i.e., a string) or a
@@ -152,6 +152,9 @@ def __init__(self, filething, id3v23=False):
 
         By default, MP3 files are saved with ID3v2.4 tags. You can use
         the older ID3v2.3 standard by specifying the `id3v23` option.
+
+        If `raise_on_unsupported_wav` is True, a `FileTypeError` is raised for WAV
+        files containing non-PCM audio streams that cannot be tagged correctly.
         """
         self.filething = filething
 
@@ -196,7 +199,7 @@ def __init__(self, filething, id3v23=False):
                 0x0055: "WAVE_FORMAT_MPEGLAYER3",
             }
             audio_fmt = getattr(self.mgfile.info, "audio_format", 0x0001)
-            if audio_fmt in _unsupported_wav_formats:
+            if raise_on_unsupported_wav and audio_fmt in _unsupported_wav_formats:
                 raise FileTypeError(self.filename, _unsupported_wav_formats[audio_fmt])
             self.type = "wav"
         else:
diff --git a/test/test_mediafile_edge.py b/test/test_mediafile_edge.py
index 20c6a67..044e14b 100644
--- a/test/test_mediafile_edge.py
+++ b/test/test_mediafile_edge.py
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ def test_mpeglayer3_wav_raises_filetypeerror(self):
         # and cannot be tagged correctly
         fn = os.path.join(_common.RSRC, b"mpeglayer3.wav")
         with pytest.raises(mediafile.FileTypeError):
-            mediafile.MediaFile(fn)
+            mediafile.MediaFile(fn, raise_on_unsupported_wav=True)
 
 
 class SideEffectsTest(unittest.TestCase):