Delay in AirPod Pro microphone audio when answering phone call

When accepting a phone call my AirPods have a delay in picking up my voice when I accept an incoming phone call. This has persisted for a long time, and results in the following interaction happening every single time;

• Incoming call
• Accept

0:01 Me: "Hello?"

0:02 Caller: "[dead air]"

0:03-0:04 Me: "[Waiting for answer]"

0:05 Me: "Can you hear me?"

0:06 Caller: "Yes."

This results in an awkward answer, and awkward delay as a caller doesn't expect the first thing they hear to be "can you hear me?" they expect a "hello" and wastes a few seconds every call... Please advise on how to resolve this issue, it has persisted and happens every time I accept a call, so this must be on my side and not the side of the callers. Additionally, if accepted without AirPods connected, the caller can hear me instantly at '0:01 "Hello"', so this must be caused by the AirPods from my understanding.

Iphone 12 Pro; iOS 16.0

Airpod info; Version 4E71

Case 1.3.8