Ads are still louder than the programming. Years back, there was a congressional hearing about that, congress asked advertisers to lower the volume. I don't think advertisers listened.

Dynamic range has merit for whispers and explosions, but too many professionals have fallen into the trap of "explosions should be painfully loud". The audience has suspension of disbelief for a reason called "not suffering pain". It's the same reason Shakespeare's stage plays dont toss a bucket of blood on the front row for "realism".

Professionals also insist on mixing audio for Dolby reference levels these days, which is an absurd 85db. That forces listeners to either suffer pain and hearing loss, or adjust volume to a more reasonable level...and now they can't hear the whispered dialogue that is in vogue.