That would actually be the INTERNAL speaker. An external speaker would be one that you hook up to the earphone jack. The internal speaker could have died or you could have a loose connection. If the scanner is still within its warranty period, contact Uniden. Alternatively, you could fix it yourself (if you are handy with electronics) or find a local electronics repair business. OR...you could just use an external speaker. If you use it at home, it's not a big deal. If you take the scanner with you, you may want to get a lapel speaker.