This is a definite fix. You actually need to switch the driver for your sound card. In Device Manager select Sound, video, and game controllers, select your sound card, open it, select the Driver tab, and select Update Driver. to the generic audio driver that comes with Windows. In Device Manager, right-click your audio driver > Update driver software... > Browse my computer for driver software > Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer, select High Definition Audio Device, select Next, and then follow the rest of the instructions to install it.
After weeks of a ton of different "solutions" this one absolutely fixed the sound problem.