Put a handful of BB's in a soup can sometime, and give it a gentle shake. Now, imagine a noise as loud as a 12 gauge shotgun going off several times a second. The noise inside the cylinder is louder than the shotgun, but by the time it makes its way to the driver's seat, the BB rattle is about all we hear. Us old geezers who have a good case of tinnitus can't even hear that. I have to get my son or one of the grandkids to ride along and be my "ears" if I'm diagnosing a spark knock these days!
Jerry