How can I stop my laptop’s mic from picking up internal audio?

Hey folks, I'm dealing with an infuriating issue where my HP Pavilion Gaming 15-dk0xxx laptop's microphone is picking up internal sounds—basically everything that's playing through my speakers. It's not just during screen recordings or when I use the "Listen to this device" feature; it happens all the time! My friends end up hearing my game audio or YouTube videos instead of my voice, which is super frustrating.

Here's a quick rundown of my setup:
* **Laptop**: HP Pavilion Gaming 15-dk0xxx
* **Audio Driver**: Realtek (R) Audio
* **OS**: Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 (21H2)
* **Speakers**: Bang & Olufsen tuned

I've already tried a bunch of things:
* Reinstalling Realtek drivers (from 2017 to the latest 2025 version)
* Switching to Microsoft High Definition Audio
* Disabling Stereo Mix
* Making sure "Listen to this device" is OFF
* Completely uninstalling and reinstalling audio devices via Device Manager
* Adjusting settings in the Sound Control Panel
* Checking BIOS settings (no microphone controls there)
* Testing with an external mic (which only works if I use internal speakers)

Some extras I've noticed:
* Sometimes, my internal mic doesn't even show up in the Sound > Recording tab.
* Using a headset mic works, but I still get the same feedback loop.
* My internal mic levels either show no input or just repeat what's coming from my speakers.

I'm suspecting this might be a driver issue with Realtek or something deeper in Windows. Has anyone else had this on similar HP models or with Realtek drivers? I'm up for trying modded drivers or tweaking the registry if needed. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!