Headphone Jack Buzzing - help!

I have a Toshiba Satellite A135.

But that doesn't really matter, since dells and other laptops have been known to have similar problems.

Initially, I had no issues with the headphone jack. (Yay.)

After a few months, the right channel suddenly dropped significantly in volume, and I began having electrical interference in this channel. I have tested this with multiple headphones, on DC-only and AC-only, disabled the audio device, and none of this has eliminated or even mitigated the static. Volume control has no influence, muting has no effect.

I have listened carefully, and the static is directly linked to hard drive activity, as a white noise base and an intermittent buzzing that changes pitch and presence based on the speed of the hard drive motor.

Therefore! I can safely assume that it is the jack itself - not software, not headphones. The weak laptop speakers balance fine, no static.

Has anyone been able to identify the source of this type of interference?
Is there anyone who can suggest a fix?

Known fixes:
Send away my laptop for a week or more for a repair. (bad option)
Acquire specialized tools for opening it up and taking it apart. (not terrible)
Buy a plug-in sound card much too powerful for my needs. (very bad option)

Is there anyway to repair it from inside the jack?

 

do you have any usb devices plugged in? if you do remove them.. and see if the problem goes away.