The Audio Ducking Annoyance
When you are listening to music, watching a video, or playing a game on Ubuntu Linux, you might experience a sudden, dramatic drop in the audio volume. This usually happens right when a notification arrives, or when you join a voice call on applications like Discord, Zoom, or Teams. This behavior is known as “audio ducking.” The operating system (specifically, the PulseAudio or PipeWire sound server) detects a high-priority audio stream (like a communication app) and automatically suppresses all background media so you can hear the caller or the notification chime clearly. While useful in a busy office environment, it is highly annoying if you just want to listen to your music uninterrupted while chatting with friends.
How to Disable PulseAudio Ducking
If your Ubuntu installation relies on the older, widely used PulseAudio sound server, the ducking behavior is controlled by a specific module called `module-role-cork`.
You can disable this module by editing the PulseAudio configuration file via the terminal.
1. Open your Terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T).
2. Type the following command to open the configuration file in the Nano text editor with root privileges:
sudo nano /etc/pulse/default.pa
3. Use your arrow keys to scroll down through the text file until you find the following line:
load-module module-role-cork
4. To disable it, simply add a hash symbol (#) at the very beginning of the line to “comment it out,” so it looks like this:
#load-module module-role-cork
5. Press Ctrl + O (the letter O, not zero) and hit Enter to save the file.
6. Press Ctrl + X to exit Nano.
7. To apply the changes immediately without rebooting, restart the PulseAudio server by typing pulseaudio -k and pressing Enter.
Your background music and game audio will now remain at a constant volume, completely ignoring incoming calls or notification pings.
Checking App-Specific Settings
If you are using the newer PipeWire sound server (default on newer Ubuntu releases), system-wide ducking is less common, but individual applications might still do it.
Open the settings within your specific communication app. For example, in Discord, go to User Settings > Voice & Video, scroll down to the “Attenuation” slider, and drag it all the way to 0% to stop the app from forcing the OS to lower the volume of other applications.