diff --git a/hal/audio_hw.c b/hal/audio_hw.c
index 038c8e7..9db7ed5 100644
--- a/hal/audio_hw.c
+++ b/hal/audio_hw.c
@@ -1546,6 +1546,14 @@
         if (out->offload_callback)
             compress_nonblock(out->compr, out->non_blocking);
 
+        /* Since small bufs uses blocking writes, a write will be blocked
+           for the default max poll time (20s) in the event of an SSR.
+           Reduce the poll time to observe and deal with SSR faster.
+        */
+        if (out->use_small_bufs) {
+            compress_set_max_poll_wait(out->compr, 1000);
+        }
+
         audio_extn_dts_create_state_notifier_node(out->usecase);
         audio_extn_dts_notify_playback_state(out->usecase, 0, out->sample_rate,
                                              popcount(out->channel_mask),