No audio on Bluetooth earbuds after updating to Tahoe 26.1 on M1 Macbook AIR

I updated my M1 Macbook AIR from Sequoia 15.5 to Tahoe 26.1 and I'm having issues with my bluetooth earbuds.

I basically have no audio if my earbuds microphone isn't working!

I can't use my laptop microphone and use my earbuds because there's no more audio output if I do that. I am obligated to use both. I can't even listen to music or watch a video with sound!

I tried different things, but the most obvious is when I go to the Sound Settings (while music is playing), in the Input section:

If I select my earbuds, I hear the audio. If I select my macbook microphone, the music goes silent. Select my earbuds again, music comes back. And then just leaving the Input tab, no more audio works...

Another problem is that my earbuds just NEVER connects if my System Settings are not open. What is that!

Bluetooth seems basically broken from the update. Everything was working fine on Sequoia before I updated.

I don't expect help here, but if other people have the same issue as me, it may help to have a quicker fix.