DisplayLink crash sound devices in Linux Mint 21.2
 

I use ICY BOX USB-C Docking Station (IB-DK2242AC) together with Linux Mint 21.2 together with the latest DisplayLink driver (Release: 5.8 | Aug 9, 2023).

From time to time, the sound crashes. All sound options (devices) disappear.
When I disconnect my docking station from my PC, then the sound option (devices) comes back.
Therefore, I think DisplayLink is the cause to this bug.
Similar problems also happened on Ubuntu 22.04.
This a new problem. Most probably is related to the release 5.8.
Does anyone have similar problems and got a fix?
I will try to downgrade the driver when I get time.

pulseaudio service
 

I also had this issue, 21.2 Cinnamon, and it happened after installing the Displaylink drivers. I thought I was going crazy missing sound and audio.

My issue was that the pulseaudio.service was removed from user startup. If you wanted to verify this is the issue, in a terminal, you can send a That "kills" and restarts the process.

If it complains there's no process running, just sending this will start the process: You should then see your pulseaudio icon in the tray, and sound would be restored. But the process is running in a terminal, so closing it would end the pulseaudio process.

To add to startup permanently:

Open Session and Startup (from Mint Menu)
Choose the Application Autostart Tab
Click the + sign at the bottom Left
Name: Start PulseAudio
Description: Start PulseAudio Service
Command: systemctl --user start pulseaudio.service
Trigger: on login

Out of curiosity, if you disconnect all of the external devices connected to the docking station itself (for example, keyboard, mouse, webcam, etc.) and leave only the dock's power cable and USB cable, does the behavior change?

I ask because I am curious if an external device connected to the dock (and not the dock itself) is contributing to the unexpected behavior.

You were little too late. It happened sometimes 10 times per day. In the end, I decided to switch to Ubuntu 22.04. Now it happens 1-2 times per week. Next time it happens, I will let you know.
In Ubuntu 22.04 however, I got lot of other problems which can be read in "Problem on new Ubuntu 22.04"