If I hadn't found this I'm not sure how long I would've been stuck since I typically keep my silent switch turned on all the time. Thank you and for me the issue was specifically related to needing to use the playback property which I'll link below:
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfaudio/avaudiosession/category/1616509-playback
Topic:
Graphics & Games
SubTopic:
SpriteKit
Tags: