How to configure app notification sound alerts in Windows 11 accessibility audio settings

Navigating to Audio Accessibility Options

You can find all hearing assistance and sound output tools by opening Settings › Accessibility › Audio This main control panel 🎛️ lets you turn on mono audio, set up visual alerts, and manage hearing devices in one place so you do not have to hunt through separate menus.

1. Press Win+I to open Settings ⚙️.

   

2. Select Accessibility from the sidebar menu on the left side of the window.

   

3. Scroll down the right-hand panel and click on Audio to open the configuration options.

   

Mono Audio

Mono audio combines the left and right sound channels into one stream that plays out of both speakers or earbuds at the same time. Turn this on under Settings › Accessibility › Audio if you have hearing loss in one ear or prefer to wear only one earbud.

1. Open Settings ⚙️ and navigate to Accessibility, then click on Audio.
2. Locate the Mono audio toggle switch.

   

3. Click the toggle to switch it to On and combine your audio channels instantly.

Visual Audio Alerts

Visual audio alerts flash your screen or active window whenever Windows plays a sound notification. Set this up under Settings › Accessibility › Audio to see visual warnings when you work in a loud room or cannot hear system sounds clearly.

1. Open Settings ⚙️ and navigate to Accessibility, then click on Audio.
2. Find the dropdown menu labeled “Flash my active window or Flash the entire screen during audio notifications”.

   

3. Click the dropdown menu and select your preferred visual flash type, or choose None to disable the feature.

Hearing Devices

You can pair and manage compatible hearing aids directly through Windows by using the settings ⚙️ menu. Go to Settings › Accessibility › Audio and select hearing devices to connect your personal hardware and route system sounds straight to your ears with clear quality.

1. Open Settings and navigate to Accessibility, then click on Audio.
2. Locate the Hearing devices option and click on it to open the pairing interface.
3. Click Add device, put your hearing device into pairing mode, and follow the on-screen prompts to establish the connection.

Mono Audio Output Customization

You can check how your computer sends sound across different speakers by reviewing your hardware properties. Open Settings, select System, and click on Sound to verify that your output streams correctly and prevents you from missing dialogue panned to only one stereo side.

1. Open Settings, select System, and click on Sound.

   

2. Check your output device properties to confirm that mono output remains active across newly connected Bluetooth headphones or external speakers.
3. Test the audio playback using a known media file to verify that sounds blend evenly across all active drivers.

Managing Live Captions and Speech Recognition

Live captions automatically turn spoken words from any video or audio stream into readable text on your screen. Head to Settings › Accessibility › Captions to turn on these subtitles so you can follow conference calls and media without needing to rely on sound output.

1. Open Settings and navigate to Accessibility.
2. Click on Captions from the list of available options.

   

3. Toggle the Live captions switch to On to enable real-time transcription for all system audio.

Advanced Sound Settings and Device Properties

You can change individual app volumes and fix audio distortion by opening the volume mixer in Windows. Go to Settings, select System, and click on Sound, then scroll down to adjust sound levels separately for your web browser, media player, and communication tools.

1. Open Settings, select System, and click on Sound.
2. Scroll down and click on Volume mixer to adjust sound levels for individual open applications.
3. Select More sound settings to open the classic control panel for deeper hardware property adjustments.

What to do next

You should now see your updated audio accessibility preferences applied across all system sounds and media playback apps. Explore the display and vision settings to further customize your computer interface for optimal visibility and ease of use.