diff --git a/src/utils/audio-stream.ts b/src/utils/audio-stream.ts
index a6bc2d7d..fec8c83f 100644
--- a/src/utils/audio-stream.ts
+++ b/src/utils/audio-stream.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ export async function* decodeAudioStream(
 
   let receivedAudio = false;
   for await (const event of parseSSE(response)) {
-    if (!event.data || event.data === '[DONE]') break;
+    if (event.data === '[DONE]') break;
+    if (!event.data) continue;
 
     let parsed: AudioPayload;
     try {
diff --git a/test/utils/audio-stream.test.ts b/test/utils/audio-stream.test.ts
index 23bdefd4..7a6384b1 100644
--- a/test/utils/audio-stream.test.ts
+++ b/test/utils/audio-stream.test.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,56 @@ async function collectAudio(response: Response): Promise<Buffer> {
 }
 
 describe('decodeAudioStream', () => {
+  it('skips an empty SSE event before audio', async () => {
+    const response = sseResponse([
+      { data: '' },
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4142', status: 2 } }) },
+    ]);
+
+    expect((await collectAudio(response)).toString()).toBe('AB');
+  });
+
+  it('does not truncate audio when an empty SSE event arrives between chunks', async () => {
+    const response = sseResponse([
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4142', status: 1 } }) },
+      { data: '' },
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4344', status: 2 } }) },
+    ]);
+
+    expect((await collectAudio(response)).toString()).toBe('ABCD');
+  });
+
+  it('propagates API errors after an empty SSE event', async () => {
+    const response = sseResponse([
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4142', status: 1 } }) },
+      { data: '' },
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ base_resp: { status_code: 1028, status_msg: 'quota exhausted' } }) },
+    ]);
+
+    await expect(collectAudio(response)).rejects.toThrow('Quota exhausted');
+  });
+
+  it('still stops at the DONE marker', async () => {
+    const response = sseResponse([
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4142', status: 1 } }) },
+      { data: '' },
+      { data: '[DONE]' },
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ base_resp: { status_code: 1028, status_msg: 'after done' } }) },
+    ]);
+
+    expect((await collectAudio(response)).toString()).toBe('AB');
+  });
+
+  it('still stops at the terminal audio status after an empty event', async () => {
+    const response = sseResponse([
+      { data: '' },
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4142', status: 2 } }) },
+      { data: JSON.stringify({ data: { audio: '4344', status: 1 } }) },
+    ]);
+
+    expect((await collectAudio(response)).toString()).toBe('AB');
+  });
+
   it('decodes a non-SSE JSON success response instead of returning empty audio', async () => {
     const audio = await collectAudio(jsonResponse({
       data: { audio: '414243', status: 2 },