You don't say if you are running Windows or Mac, so I'll assume Windows.

Problems like that with the game's audio are almost always caused in Windows when your computer is very busy. One way to check this is to run Task Manager (right-click on the Taskbar and choose Task Manager), then click on the Performance tab. This will display your system usage. If it's very high, it can affect audio quality.
To find out which program or system process is using the resources, Processes tab. Once there, sort the processes by CPU usage (click on the CPU heading twice - the first time will show the lowest usage processes on top; the second click will sort by processes that are using the highest amount of CPU).
We know of several applications and Windows system processes that occasionally use very high percentage of CPU, including a popular virus scanning program. If you find a process that is consistently using more than 50% CPU, it is likely causing the audio problem that you're hearing. In that situation, you should try closing the the program that is consuming excessive system resources and see if the game's audio operates normally again.
If those things don't resolve the problem, you should check your sound card's hardware settings, then, if CPU usage is normal. The easiest way to do that is to use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. Click Start, then Run, then type dxdiag in the window and press OK. The DirectX Diagnostic tool will open. You may be asked if you want to allow checking for digital signatures (I usually allow that - it's harmless). On the first page of the tool (the System tab), you can find information about your computer and DirectX version.
If you click on the Sound tab, you'll see information about your sound card. Is your sound card's hardware acceleration slider set all the way to the right (Full acceleration)? If you test DirectSound, does it successfully pass all of the tests? What is the date listed in the driver section in the upper right? If the date is more than 6 months ago, you should check with your computer manufacturer or sound card manufacturer to see if there is an updated driver available.