diff --git a/lib/tasks/gather.js b/lib/tasks/gather.js
index 087aff56..ed8b8e27 100644
--- a/lib/tasks/gather.js
+++ b/lib/tasks/gather.js
@@ -920,7 +920,7 @@ class TaskGather extends SttTask {
         }
       }
       // If transcription received, reset timeout timer.
-      if (this._timeoutTimer) {
+      if (this._timeoutTimer && !emptyTranscript) {
         this._startTimer();
       }
       /* restart asr timer if we get a partial transcript (only if the asr timer is already running) */