diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f6a009fd6..5c8648272 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Fixed an issue with `GoogleSTTService` where it was constantly reconnecting 
+  before starting to receive audio from the user.
+
 - Fixed an issue where `GoogleLLMService`'s TTFB value was incorrect.
 
 ### Other
diff --git a/src/pipecat/services/google/stt.py b/src/pipecat/services/google/stt.py
index 4fd129af3..bf60541f5 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/services/google/stt.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/services/google/stt.py
@@ -747,6 +747,11 @@ class GoogleSTTService(STTService):
         try:
             while True:
                 try:
+                    if self._request_queue.empty():
+                        # wait for 10ms in case we don't have audio
+                        await asyncio.sleep(0.01)
+                        continue
+
                     # Start bi-directional streaming
                     streaming_recognize = await self._client.streaming_recognize(
                         requests=self._request_generator()