I haven't read the whole discussion, but I agree enemies should be able to hear you when you try to sneak and backstab them while in medium or heavy armor. Deaf Ears is a very bad design choice.
Err... I mean Larian probably had a very long list of bugs and whatnot in backlog when they released EA. They also likely struggle with Covid situation. Give them at least a few months before they can parse all the feedback.
