Headphone MIC pulsates on recording

Hello!

I have a generic headset that uses the normal "headphone jacks" vs. the USB connection you find now. This is an old headset I got from work and works great for sound and on the laptops we have at work. On my machine, it still works but the sound recorded pulsates, rather like a heartbeat. It goes from normal to silent and appears to get louder as it goes, but I've not recorded more than about 6 seconds or so.

I am running Windows 7 Pro SP1 with all available updates. Drivers are current as of yesterday.

The headset is plugged directly into the tower, front panel. I have had other headsets that have worked there in the past... those have died horrible deaths that would have done Tesla proud... no real details needed there.

Anyhow, I am willing to admit defeat and say that the microphone is toast, but it's possible that there's something I am overlooking and thus I might save some money if I don't have to buy a new headset vs using this old one from work.

Any ideas?

Ok update.

I've found that it's my sound that is pulsating, not the recording. I have removed the headphones and it's still pulsating. It's really weird.