I had actually thought this was the case a long time ago, but I guess not. We'll see how well it actually works. (h/t +Scott Randel)
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CALM Act limits volume of TV commercials
CALM stands for Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation. The act is designed to prevent TV commercials from blaring at louder volumes than the program content they accompany.
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It's a pity that the television networks couldn't have implemented this themselves. You'd think that they would have an interest in making commercials palatable to their listeners, but they didn't do anything, so now the FCC had to step in.
The vague sense that they might upset their viewers was, I'm sure, overwhelmed by the acute sense that the sponsors were requesting it.
I likewise thought something had already been implemented a few years ago. It got a lot quieter. Then again, I also stopped routinely watching TV around when I heard and first started noticing a difference, so maybe that's it. Or perhaps just the networks I watch started volume controlling? Either way, it affects me little, but I still approve.
Now, if only the same could be applied to radio and Internet… Wait no. I don't want the government regulating those at all… Communication on those is both ways, and I don't want people muted unnecessarily.
I bought a pass-through device that mitigated loud noise from the television after K complained about ads being too loud. I can't really vouch for its effectiveness as he always watched TV at a volume I found objectionably loud.
My TV has a setting that controls the volume range, keeping it in the middle. I haven’t tried it yet.