FaceTime mutes other person on iPhone 15 when I speak despite settings

Hello everyone-

While I am on the phone with someone using FaceTime, it completely mutes the other person while I speak. This makes it incredibly difficult to hold a conversation because often times, background noise on my end will cause this feature to trigger and completely mute the other person. It is incredibly frustrating and I would like to turn this feature off.

Heres the issue:

I have read through posts about this exact problem, seen the feedback those users have received, and applied it to my phone. I have turned off noise cancellation, voice isolation, and audio ducking. Nothing works. It still happens.

I have an iPhone 15.

Am i doing something wrong? Are other people also having this issue? What can I do to turn this feature off???