It turns out that after following the below guide, I found that another package called timidity is conflicting with PulseAudio and causing it to fail detecting my audio devices. So I uninstalled it and PulseAudio is now working fine.
sudo apt-get remove timidity https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PulseAudio/Troubleshooting#The_only_device_shown_is_%22dummy_output%22_or_newly_connected_cards_are_not_detected I ran this command: HP-Pavilion-dv6-Notebook-PC:~$ sudo fuser -v /dev/snd/* USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC0: timidity 852 F.... timidity /dev/snd/controlC1: rana 7346 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/pcmC0D0p: timidity 852 F...m timidity /dev/snd/seq: timidity 852 F.... timidity /dev/snd/timer: timidity 852 f.... timidity ** Changed in: pulseaudio (Ubuntu) Status: New => Invalid ** Converted to question: https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+question/699628 -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1952154 Title: [HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC, IDT 92HD75B3X5, Speaker, Internal] Pulseaudio fails to detect card To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pulseaudio/+bug/1952154/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs