Apple Airpods Pro Are Creating "Garbled" Speech That Makes Me Sound Like I'm Speaking Nonsense

Hello there!

My apple airpods (Model A2698, Version 7B21) are cutting off the first two seconds of my speech. Only when I speak for more than 2-3 words is it heard by the other party. However, the rest of my speech comes up as "garbled" to the listening (either too quiet, or distorted, or otherwise hard to understand).

So far, to remedy this, I have taken them into Apple support (to which they reported there is no problem, after keeping them for a day), and also I have selected "forget these airbuds" with my devices. The problem persists.

Can you please help me solve this problem? The sound has upset my co-workers and my manager, and it feels out of my control. Help is appreciated!

Nicholas