I apologize if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it.

I upgraded to Karmic when it was first released (post-beta), and most everything was fine. I've been able to play music through Rhythmbox, chat on XChat (where I have some sound effects turned on), chat on Pidgin (again, with sound), and get system sounds.

A few days ago, that all stopped, and I can't figure out why. I can now only get sound through one program at a time. I have both PulseAudio and ALSA installed after various bits of research, and have restarted both from Terminal. But when I restart either one, the same issue comes up: whichever app demands the audio first, it gets it, to the exclusion of all other apps. (Sorry if I'm not being clear, kinda tired, and frustrated with this -- been working on it for a few days before I gave up and came here).

Anyone else have this issue?