Even the youngest member of my family races for the mute button.  Our response time is like critical mass as we groan and race for the remote control. 

Industry professionals down play this obvious fact as 'seeming' loud after a quiet dramatic scene or sometimes 'needed' to relay the point of the commercial.  These comments might hold water if it happened in the middle of the night as well.  My guess is it only occurs during day or prime-time viewing. 

Thank you Congresswoman Eshoo. 

In the meantime, my entire family will continue to hone their
mute-button-reflex.  

http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/79261977.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress could make TV broadcasters turn down
the volume on their commercials.
California Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is among the TV
viewers who complain that the volume gets louder during commercial
breaks. Eshoo found that it's a common complaint with the Federal
Communications Commission. So, she drafted a bill aimed at keeping
TV ads from playing noticeably louder than the programs they
sponsor.
But Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular
culture at Syracuse University, says Congress should have better
things to do. He says he doesn't think anyone has ever been harmed
by loud commercials.
The House is scheduled to vote on the proposal tomorrow. An
identical measure is before the Senate. But some experts say even
if it becomes law, viewers may not notice a difference.
The head of an industry group says sound spikes can be part of
the storytelling. And some commercials may just seem noisy because
they follow a quiet, intense scene in the TV show.

Tags: Congress Loud Commercials Prime-time