diff --git a/src/services/AudioLoader.ts b/src/services/AudioLoader.ts
index 945e222..28b86a9 100644
--- a/src/services/AudioLoader.ts
+++ b/src/services/AudioLoader.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,13 @@
 /**
  * Global audio loading queue service to prevent hitting browser connection limits
+ * Will yield to image loading if images are queued
  */
 
+import { hasQueuedImages } from "./ImageLoader";
+
 // Configuration
 const MAX_CONCURRENT_LOADS = 1;
+const RETRY_DELAY_MS = 200; // Time to wait before retrying if yielding to images
 
 // State
 let activeLoads = 0;
@@ -82,6 +86,14 @@ export function queueAudioForLoading(
  * Process the next items in the queue if we have capacity
  */
 function processQueue() {
+  // Check if there are any images being loaded or queued - yield to them if so
+  if (hasQueuedImages()) {
+    console.debug("[AudioLoader] Yielding to image loader, will retry later");
+    // Schedule a retry after a short delay
+    setTimeout(processQueue, RETRY_DELAY_MS);
+    return;
+  }
+
   // Group queue items by src to avoid duplicate loads
   const nextBatch: Record<
     string,
@@ -119,6 +131,12 @@ function processQueue() {
   Object.entries(nextBatch).forEach(([src, handlers]) => {
     loadAudio(src, handlers);
   });
+
+  // If we have more items in the queue but didn't process them due to capacity limits,
+  // and no images are queued, schedule another processQueue call to check again soon
+  if (audioQueue.length > 0 && !hasQueuedImages()) {
+    setTimeout(processQueue, RETRY_DELAY_MS);
+  }
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/services/ImageLoader.ts b/src/services/ImageLoader.ts
index 6c7dddd..e8e8e47 100644
--- a/src/services/ImageLoader.ts
+++ b/src/services/ImageLoader.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,14 @@ const imageQueue: Array<{
   onComplete: () => void;
 }> = [];
 
+/**
+ * Check if there are any images queued or actively loading
+ * Used by other loaders to prioritize image loading
+ */
+export function hasQueuedImages(): boolean {
+  return imageQueue.length > 0 || activeLoads > 0;
+}
+
 /**
  * Queue an image for loading, respecting the global concurrent loading limit
  */