Sometimes when you're watching your favorite shows on television, the sound may seem to get louder when the commercials start to roll.
Donald wrote us to ask why it seems the TV's volume gets louder when a commercial comes on than the volume during normal programming.
We checked with 13WMAZ's General Manager, Jeff Dudley to find out about the station's sound.
Right now the Federal Communications Commission , or FCC, does not regulate the volume of programs or commercials that you see on TV.
The FCC says the perception of something being "too loud" varies from listener to listener based on factors like content and style, the speaker's voice and tone, background sounds and music.
It can also depend on the age of your television. The commission says more units now come with circuits designed to stabilize loudness between different programs and commercials. The FCC says you may have to enable these functions throughout the set-up or audio menus.
It says you can also use the mute option for content that is too loud, and adjust the audio manually by turning the volume up and down.
In the next few years, you may find some relief with a new act signed by President Barack Obama last year, the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation or Calm Act.
13WMAZ General Manager Jeff Dudley says the station has in-house equipment to control audio levels, but the act will allow the FCC to create rules and regulations for groups like television stations, production companies and cable and satellite companies.
"The intention is to create more consistent levels in programming and commercials so that you don't have to reach for the remote control and change it between one piece of programming and one piece of commercial content," said Dudley.
Click here for FCC Consumer Information on program background noise and loud commercials.
The FCC says in some high end equipment like home theater systems some automatic devices can help reduce excessive volume levels.