Thinkpad X31 - No Sound after problem with USB port

[uri]

Hi,

Last week, the audio on my Thinkpad X31 suddenly started cutting up, sometimes producing a "radio tuning in" type noise, which I could only stop by pushing down near where the audio sockets are.

The left hand USB port, situated right next to the audio sockets, also stopped working properly, so there seemed to be a connection between the two things.

After opening up the laptop I saw that one side of the USB socket was coming loose from the motherboard. The little "arm" (the part soldered to the board, I mean) on that side of the socket was on the verge of snapping off... which it duly did.

So now the USB socket doesn't work at all, but much worse neither does any audio on the laptop (through the speakers or through headphones). I don't really understand this, however, as although the soundcard and USB socket are next to each other on the board, why would the USB socket becoming disconnected directly affect the sound?

Does anyone have an explanation for this, and please tell me how I might be able to fix it? I really don't mind losing one USB socket, as I rarely used it anyway, I just want the sound back .

Thank a lot for any help.