I agree! ^ Sometimes the speaker volume is indeed too loud. Sometimes it's the DING. Especially on long flights, when you're just dosing off and a DING scares the wind out of you. Other times though it's the speakers altogether. I've been on several CRJ's that had the speaker volume ridiculously loud, to the point where the ears hurt during the announcements. I wish they took that into consideration because it can be very unpleasant.

(Another thing I might add: on transatlantic flights, once people are relaxing/sleeping, the pilots coming on to tell us about the altitude and stuff may not be the best idea. Most people can do without that useful information when they're trying to sleep. It's not like I go to pilots to let them know what I'm doing - now I finished eating, now I'm going to the bathroom, etc. )