Microphone issue - gargled sound on Linux

[ludmilmm]

I have Logitech, Inc. C920 HD Pro Webcam which was working fine with Zoom and Linux Mint 21. After upgrading to Linux Mint 22 my microphone started acting up. The sound is garbled so bad that you can't understand what I am talking. The webcam works just fine with Skype for Linux and some other apps that are using it. 

I tried troubleshooting the issue myself - uninstalling Zoom, installing the latest version, and trying it again. Nothing helped so far. Does anyone have an idea how can I fix the issue? Thanks!

Here's some additional info:

$ uname -a
Linux xxx 6.8.0-51-generic #52-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Dec 5 13:09:44 UTC 2024 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

$ cat /etc/*release
DISTRIB_ID=LinuxMint
DISTRIB_RELEASE=22
DISTRIB_CODENAME=wilma
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Linux Mint 22 Wilma"
NAME="Linux Mint"
VERSION="22 (Wilma)"
ID=linuxmint
ID_LIKE="ubuntu debian"
PRETTY_NAME="Linux Mint 22"
VERSION_ID="22"
HOME_URL="https://www.linuxmint.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://forums.linuxmint.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://linuxmint-troubleshooting-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.linuxmint.com/"
VERSION_CODENAME=wilma
UBUNTU_CODENAME=noble

$ dpkg -l | grep zoom
ii zoom 6.2.6.2503 amd64 Zoom Cloud Meetings

BTW, it is not helping that:
1. Zoom doesn't have much info about Linux in their troubleshooting guides

2. The Zoom app on Linux doesn't have the option to test the microphone