Why does the microphone only work when listening?

Question

Microphones

There are 2 microphones: 1 in the headset, the other in the webcam. Both go via USB. Today I installed an automatic update for Windows 10, after which both microphones stopped recording sound. Applications (steam, skype, chrome) detect the driver, but there is no sound recording. In "Sounds - Recording" the level does not fluctuate on the devices (indicating the signal from the microphone), but if you select the device and click the "Listen to this device" checkbox, the level comes to life and I hear myself. There is no system restore point, I can not roll back ... Although I'm not 100% sure that this is due to the update.
Why does the microphone only work in "listen" mode in Windows 7? - here the person had the same problem (only I have both USB devices), but no solution was found.
Please help. Thank you.

Answer 1

You go to Start - Settings - Privacy - Microphone - Allow applications to use the microphone, change the switch to the "On" position.