Or you should get a sound system with an optional redirect to headphones. Normally, if audio goes through HDMI, it was still sent through the motherboard audio device. Now, iirc, HDMI is digital audio anyways, so it would have the chance of alleviating your problem, but it can sometimes be more expensive to redirect HDMI audio without invoking the wrath of HDCP than getting a soundcard/replacing your digital audio controller, all of which is less expensive than running down your only audio hardware that you have at home because you're too lazy to do anything about it (my situation). Then again, if you have a screen/TV with a headphone jack, it's entirely okay.
in a perfect world we would all be piles of sand with no ability to form coherent bodies of body