With all due credits to those who found the solution first, here it is
1. Edit the Alsa config file
sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf2. Add at the end of the file the following line
options snd-hda-intel model=thinkpad3. Restart the sound card
sudo /sbin/alsa force-reload4. If your issue is still not solved, try changing the value for Step 2 to to something else other than 'thinkpad'. Refer to the list below.
laptop Basic Laptop config (default) hp-laptop HP laptops, e g G60 asus Asus K52JU, Lenovo G560 dell-laptop Dell laptops dell-vostro Dell Vostro olpc-xo-1_5 OLPC XO 1.5 ideapad Lenovo IdeaPad U150 thinkpad Lenovo Thinkpad