Anyone who watches TV can tell you: When the commercials come on, it feels like you're being blasted by volume. At some point, we've all reached for the mute button, because those ads are so much louder than the shows surrounding them.
But do TV commercials really have to be louder than the TV programs? That's what Congress is deciding right now.
While commercials on television definitely seem louder than the programs, in a way, they're not. Here's how it works: Commercials are allowed to air at the peak level for all programming — the level of explosions, car crashes or cops yelling at criminals to get down on the ground. So if your TV show is having a quiet moment, or if it's a quiet show like a bowling tournament, then the commercials are going to feel like they're blasting you out of your seat.
