It does get better trust me. Just try to pay attention to the volume of the transient and the room, that may give you some hints. When the track is compressed with a quick attack the transient feels crushed and lacks punch. When the release is quick the room volume (on drums) is much more able to hear. When you have to choose between ratios that is harder to me but there’s still a diference in the room volume, the kit has more room when the ratio is higher and it feels more compressed overall.
PS: it is not a waste of time, nothing is. Michael Brauer, one of the best mixing engineers said it took him 5 years to hear compression when he was assistant.