Audacity 2.2.1 freezes also other apps cant use mic

I am on 2.2.1 and have used Audacity for podcasting and streaming for several years. For the past week I have run up against this issue: when I have Audacity and another app, lets say Discord, open, I can record Audacity. But when I hit stop, I can’t play back my recording unless I turn off the other app. Then it works fine.
But: When I have Audacity running, even minimized, Discord/Skype/Hangouts will not see my mic. I can hear myself, the apps show my mics are outputting, but no one on the receiving end of the call can hear me. Unless…I completely turn off Audacity.
This issue just sprang up when I updated both Audacity and Win 10 (as of this week). Has anyone run into this issue?

For more info, I am using a mixer and a USB interface for mic and headphones, mainly Discord for streaming/podcasting chat and Audacity for recording.

I’ve come across this issue with all versions of Audacity (not specific to 2.2.1). The problem is that most voip applications require exclusive access to the audio hardware, and that conflicts with Audacity.

If you have more than one audio device (for example, a USB headset and a built-in sound card), it is sometimes possible to work around the issue by using Audacity with one device, and the voip application with the other, Note that this does not allow you to play or record the voip application with Audacity.