diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f96d1b6..337b37d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [4.36.8]
+
+- Fix an uncaught exception that killed the process when a still-connecting socket was torn down — on a connection-attempt timeout or a `close()` racing `connect()`, `ws` emits `error` on the next tick after the SDK had removed all listeners. Teardown now keeps an error sink attached, and a timed-out `connect()` rejects into the caller's `catch` instead of crashing first
+
 ## [4.36.7]
 
 - Fix `StreamingTranscriber.close()` and `RealtimeTranscriber.close()` hanging forever when the socket closes without a `Termination` message — `onclose` now releases the pending wait, and the wait is bounded by a new optional `terminationTimeout` parameter on `close()` (5000ms default; `0` waits indefinitely). The socket is closed either way
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 80d630f..e5aef75 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "assemblyai",
-  "version": "4.36.7",
+  "version": "4.36.8",
   "description": "The AssemblyAI JavaScript SDK provides an easy-to-use interface for interacting with the AssemblyAI API, which supports async and real-time transcription, as well as the latest LeMUR models.",
   "engines": {
     "node": ">=18"
diff --git a/src/services/realtime/service.ts b/src/services/realtime/service.ts
index 739fa9e..8be0de1 100644
--- a/src/services/realtime/service.ts
+++ b/src/services/realtime/service.ts
@@ -388,7 +388,13 @@ Learn more at https://github.com/AssemblyAI/assemblyai-node-sdk/blob/main/docs/c
           this.socket.send(terminateSessionMessage);
         }
       }
-      if (this.socket?.removeAllListeners) this.socket.removeAllListeners();
+      if (this.socket?.removeAllListeners) {
+        this.socket.removeAllListeners();
+        // Closing a still-CONNECTING socket (close() racing connect()) makes
+        // `ws` emit `error` on the next tick; keep a sink attached so that
+        // emit cannot become an uncaughtException.
+        this.socket.onerror = () => {};
+      }
       this.socket.close();
     }
 
diff --git a/src/services/streaming/service.ts b/src/services/streaming/service.ts
index 2fff85e..db7d63c 100644
--- a/src/services/streaming/service.ts
+++ b/src/services/streaming/service.ts
@@ -749,7 +749,15 @@ Learn more at https://github.com/AssemblyAI/assemblyai-node-sdk/blob/main/docs/c
   private discardPendingSocket(): void {
     if (!this.socket) return;
     try {
-      if (this.socket.removeAllListeners) this.socket.removeAllListeners();
+      if (this.socket.removeAllListeners) {
+        this.socket.removeAllListeners();
+        // `ws` aborts a still-CONNECTING handshake by emitting `error` on the
+        // next tick, and an `error` emit with no listener crashes the process
+        // as an uncaughtException — outside this try/catch and any caller's.
+        // Keep a sink attached; the failure is already reported through the
+        // rejected connect() promise.
+        this.socket.onerror = () => {};
+      }
       this.socket.close();
     } catch {
       // Best-effort cleanup; a half-open socket may throw on close.
@@ -1116,7 +1124,13 @@ Learn more at https://github.com/AssemblyAI/assemblyai-node-sdk/blob/main/docs/c
           this.socket.send(terminateSessionMessage);
         }
       }
-      if (this.socket?.removeAllListeners) this.socket.removeAllListeners();
+      if (this.socket?.removeAllListeners) {
+        this.socket.removeAllListeners();
+        // Closing a still-CONNECTING socket (close() racing connect()) makes
+        // `ws` emit `error` on the next tick; keep a sink attached so that
+        // emit cannot become an uncaughtException.
+        this.socket.onerror = () => {};
+      }
       this.socket.close();
     }
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/streaming-connecting-teardown.test.ts b/tests/unit/streaming-connecting-teardown.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1af6b9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/streaming-connecting-teardown.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import { EventEmitter } from "events";
+import { StreamingTranscriber, RealtimeTranscriber } from "../../src";
+
+// Regression tests for
+// https://github.com/AssemblyAI/assemblyai-node-sdk/issues/170.
+//
+// When a socket in the CONNECTING state is closed, `ws` aborts the handshake
+// and emits `error` on the next tick. Node's EventEmitter turns an `error`
+// emit with zero listeners into a thrown error — an uncaughtException that
+// kills the process, since the emit happens outside any caller's try/catch.
+// The SDK's teardown paths call `removeAllListeners()` before `close()`, so
+// they must leave an error sink attached for that deferred emit to land on.
+//
+// The shared `tests/unit/mocks/ws.ts` mock can't catch this: its
+// `removeAllListeners()` replaces handlers with no-ops instead of removing
+// them, and mock-socket never does the deferred emit. This fake reproduces
+// the relevant `ws` semantics: EventEmitter-backed listeners and an
+// `onerror` attribute that registers a real listener.
+class FakeConnectingWsSocket extends EventEmitter {
+  CONNECTING = 0 as const;
+  OPEN = 1 as const;
+  CLOSING = 2 as const;
+  CLOSED = 3 as const;
+  readyState = 0;
+  binaryType = "arraybuffer";
+  closeCalled = false;
+
+  private errorAttributeHandler: ((event: unknown) => void) | null = null;
+
+  set onerror(handler: ((event: unknown) => void) | null) {
+    if (this.errorAttributeHandler) {
+      this.removeListener("error", this.errorAttributeHandler);
+    }
+    this.errorAttributeHandler = handler;
+    if (handler) this.on("error", handler);
+  }
+
+  get onerror(): ((event: unknown) => void) | null {
+    return this.errorAttributeHandler;
+  }
+
+  send(): void {}
+
+  close(): void {
+    this.closeCalled = true;
+  }
+
+  // ws's deferred `emitErrorAndClose`, run synchronously so a missing
+  // listener fails this test instead of crashing the jest worker.
+  emitDeferredHandshakeAbort(): void {
+    this.emit(
+      "error",
+      new Error("WebSocket was closed before the connection was established"),
+    );
+  }
+}
+
+function injectSocket(
+  transcriber: StreamingTranscriber | RealtimeTranscriber,
+  socket: FakeConnectingWsSocket,
+): void {
+  (transcriber as unknown as { socket: unknown }).socket = socket;
+}
+
+describe("tearing down a CONNECTING socket", () => {
+  it("discardPendingSocket() leaves an error sink attached", () => {
+    const rt = new StreamingTranscriber({
+      apiKey: "123",
+      sampleRate: 16_000,
+    });
+    const socket = new FakeConnectingWsSocket();
+    injectSocket(rt, socket);
+
+    (rt as unknown as { discardPendingSocket(): void }).discardPendingSocket();
+
+    expect(socket.closeCalled).toBe(true);
+    expect(socket.listenerCount("error")).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(() => socket.emitDeferredHandshakeAbort()).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it("StreamingTranscriber.close() leaves an error sink attached", async () => {
+    const rt = new StreamingTranscriber({
+      apiKey: "123",
+      sampleRate: 16_000,
+    });
+    const socket = new FakeConnectingWsSocket();
+    injectSocket(rt, socket);
+
+    // close() racing an unresolved connect(): the socket is not OPEN, so the
+    // Termination handshake is skipped and teardown runs immediately.
+    await rt.close();
+
+    expect(socket.closeCalled).toBe(true);
+    expect(socket.listenerCount("error")).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(() => socket.emitDeferredHandshakeAbort()).not.toThrow();
+  });
+
+  it("RealtimeTranscriber.close() leaves an error sink attached", async () => {
+    const rt = new RealtimeTranscriber({
+      apiKey: "123",
+      sampleRate: 16_000,
+    });
+    const socket = new FakeConnectingWsSocket();
+    injectSocket(rt, socket);
+
+    await rt.close();
+
+    expect(socket.closeCalled).toBe(true);
+    expect(socket.listenerCount("error")).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(() => socket.emitDeferredHandshakeAbort()).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});