To be fair it's 2021 and this problem still exists.
What fixed the issue for this game specifically was downloading something called "K-lite basic" codecs.
It is very unprofessional of Ubisoft to blatantly ignore people from 2012 reporting the exact same issue over and over. Then go behind their backs and add a patch to another game (Skyrim) showing they can fix the problem but choose not to.
Some people have said fixing the problem is as simple as fixing some DAT and FAT files.
Others say adjusting the prerequisite files to include x86 -64 Microsoft Visual Redistributables.
Some say change your control panel to Stereo Audio 16 bit 48 Khz.
What additionally fixed my problem was
Control panel -> sound -> <primary audio device> -> right click -> properties -> advanced -> Disable allow applications to take exclusive control of this device.
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