We had the same problem. Noticed it really bad on NCIS, so my husband sent an email to CBS and they suggested to check our TV to make sure the surround sound is not on. He checked and it was on. So, he turned the surround sound off and solved our problem. Hope this helps!

Apparently it is not just us older people this bothers. A friend of mine has a 12 yo daughter that has taken to using the close caption instead of the volume. He took her in and there is nothing wrong with her hearing. She says the noise in the back ground makes it hard to hear the show. I tried watching her vampire show just to see what the big attraction is and after 15 minutes I turned it off-it gave me a headache from straining to hear the words.

and what's even worse is the laugh tracks. they too seem to get louder. I know when to laugh, I don't need the tv telling me when to laugh. How stupid do you have to be not to know that. The background music is terrible. I agree how it get louder. it's terrible, I thought my hearing was going.

I think that may be why I've become so bored with tv. Hate having to strain to listen to the script because of the background music.

I've noticed this on NCIS, too, so I'm off to check my TV settings. Thanks!

yes, it is irritating. I always wondered when the awards for movies comes out, the sound on some win and that's the one where the music is much too loud. you can't hear the actors! go figure!

My DH just bought a new 60 inch "Smart" TV in October. He got a fantastic deal on it - when he first turned it on, we thought the sound was horrible, the speakers on the TV just were bad, as he read the directions the TV was made to have additional speakers. Now that is not a problem for us, he has the full surround sound system with sub woofer, etc and so the TV speaker is not used. But I wonder if that is why it was such a deal - you have to buy speakers to go with the TV. I hope this is not a trend because I do not want to have to buy speakers for tv's I have in other rooms when they will need to be replaced.

I also have noticed that commercials are getting louder. Such an inconvenience to go looking for the remote to hit the mute button. Find that I am watching more TV on Demand then when shown live on the channel.

We bought a new flat screen TV a few years ago & could not hear the sound/voices, even when it was maxed. We had to buy a sound system & fiddle with it to get the sound right, more like our old TV. Even then we also get some channels where the background music is too loud. I so hate this new tech stuff. Digital is not kind to ears/hearing. Give me the old analog back any day.

That's interesting about the surround sound. I remember my husband turning that on once and it made some of the backgrounds sounds so loud the dogs barked! I made him turn it off and I guess it's never gotten turned back on so we're not having that problem.

I also have hearing loss and wear hearing aids. When there is too much background its extemely hard for me to hear the dialog. I've just realized that I've had some problems hearing the TV in my sewing room. I may have to check the settings this evening. I might be able to do something about it.