diff --git a/__TEST__/hyperaudio-lite.test.js b/__TEST__/hyperaudio-lite.test.js
index 5b9ff0d..42a6383 100644
--- a/__TEST__/hyperaudio-lite.test.js
+++ b/__TEST__/hyperaudio-lite.test.js
@@ -403,6 +403,49 @@ test("updateTranscriptVisualState self-heals after external class rewrites (#251
   expect(spans[5].classList.contains("unread")).toBe(true);
 });
 
+test("updateTranscriptVisualState tolerates a detached cached word (#265)", () => {
+  ht.myPlayer = { paused: false };
+  const detachedWord = ht.wordArr[4].n;
+  const parent = detachedWord.parentNode;
+  const nextSibling = detachedWord.nextSibling;
+  const exactStart = parseInt(detachedWord.dataset.m) / 1000;
+
+  detachedWord.remove();
+  expect(() => ht.updateTranscriptVisualState(exactStart)).not.toThrow();
+
+  parent.insertBefore(detachedWord, nextSibling);
+  ht.refreshWords();
+});
+
+test("refreshWords rebuilds DOM caches after transcript edits (#265)", () => {
+  const firstWord = ht.wordArr[0].n;
+  const firstParent = firstWord.parentNode;
+  const firstNextSibling = firstWord.nextSibling;
+  const replacement = document.createElement("span");
+  replacement.dataset.m = "12000";
+  replacement.dataset.d = "500";
+  replacement.textContent = "replacement ";
+
+  firstWord.remove();
+  document.querySelector("#hypertranscript p:last-of-type").appendChild(replacement);
+  ht.prevWordIndex = 5;
+  ht.activeWordElement = ht.wordArr[4].n;
+  ht.activeParentElement = ht.wordArr[4].n.parentNode;
+
+  const refreshed = ht.refreshWords();
+
+  expect(refreshed.some(entry => entry.n === firstWord)).toBe(false);
+  expect(refreshed.some(entry => entry.n === replacement)).toBe(true);
+  expect(ht.prevWordIndex).toBe(0);
+  expect(ht.activeWordElement).toBeNull();
+  expect(ht.activeParentElement).toBeNull();
+  expect(Array.from(ht.parentElements)).toContain(replacement.parentNode);
+
+  replacement.remove();
+  firstParent.insertBefore(firstWord, firstNextSibling);
+  ht.refreshWords();
+});
+
 test("setPlayHead updates currentTime and plays if playOnClick is true", () => {
   ht.playOnClick = true;
   ht.myPlayer = { setTime: jest.fn(), play: jest.fn(), paused: true };
diff --git a/js/hyperaudio-lite.d.ts b/js/hyperaudio-lite.d.ts
index 0a65b8e..7e397ce 100644
--- a/js/hyperaudio-lite.d.ts
+++ b/js/hyperaudio-lite.d.ts
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ export declare class HyperaudioLite {
   pauseAutoscroll(): void;
   /** Re-enable autoscroll after pauseAutoscroll(). */
   resumeAutoscroll(): void;
+  /** Rebuild cached word and parent references after transcript DOM edits. */
+  refreshWords(): Array<{ n: HTMLElement; m: number; p: Node }>;
   /** Remove all listeners added by this instance and stop the polling loop. */
   destroy(): void;
 }
diff --git a/js/hyperaudio-lite.js b/js/hyperaudio-lite.js
index c86b2a3..0c01cb3 100644
--- a/js/hyperaudio-lite.js
+++ b/js/hyperaudio-lite.js
@@ -542,8 +542,24 @@ class HyperaudioLite {
 
   // Setup the transcript words
   setupTranscriptWords() {
+    this.refreshWords();
+  }
+
+  // Rebuild cached word and parent references after transcript DOM edits.
+  refreshWords() {
+    if (this.activeWordElement) {
+      this.activeWordElement.classList.remove('active');
+    }
+    if (this.activeParentElement) {
+      this.activeParentElement.classList.remove('active');
+    }
+    this.prevWordIndex = 0;
+    this.activeWordElement = null;
+    this.activeParentElement = null;
+
     const words = this.transcript.querySelectorAll('[data-m]');
     this.wordArr = this.createWordArray(words);
+    this.parentTag = null;
 
     // check for elements with data-m attributes that are not directly below <section>
     // these will contain <p> or similar that we can scroll to
@@ -556,7 +572,10 @@ class HyperaudioLite {
       }
     }
 
-    this.parentElements = this.transcript.getElementsByTagName(this.parentTag);
+    this.parentElements = this.parentTag
+      ? this.transcript.getElementsByTagName(this.parentTag)
+      : [];
+    return this.wordArr;
   }
 
   setupAutoScroll(autoscroll, scrollContainer) {
@@ -1051,7 +1070,9 @@ class HyperaudioLite {
       if (!this.myPlayer.paused || forceActiveWord) {
         activeWord.classList.add('active');
       }
-      activeParent.classList.add('active');
+      if (activeParent) {
+        activeParent.classList.add('active');
+      }
     }
 
     this.activeWordElement = activeWord;
diff --git a/js/hyperaudio-lite.mjs b/js/hyperaudio-lite.mjs
index 82f9f7c..62454e1 100644
--- a/js/hyperaudio-lite.mjs
+++ b/js/hyperaudio-lite.mjs
@@ -542,8 +542,24 @@ class HyperaudioLite {
 
   // Setup the transcript words
   setupTranscriptWords() {
+    this.refreshWords();
+  }
+
+  // Rebuild cached word and parent references after transcript DOM edits.
+  refreshWords() {
+    if (this.activeWordElement) {
+      this.activeWordElement.classList.remove('active');
+    }
+    if (this.activeParentElement) {
+      this.activeParentElement.classList.remove('active');
+    }
+    this.prevWordIndex = 0;
+    this.activeWordElement = null;
+    this.activeParentElement = null;
+
     const words = this.transcript.querySelectorAll('[data-m]');
     this.wordArr = this.createWordArray(words);
+    this.parentTag = null;
 
     // check for elements with data-m attributes that are not directly below <section>
     // these will contain <p> or similar that we can scroll to
@@ -556,7 +572,10 @@ class HyperaudioLite {
       }
     }
 
-    this.parentElements = this.transcript.getElementsByTagName(this.parentTag);
+    this.parentElements = this.parentTag
+      ? this.transcript.getElementsByTagName(this.parentTag)
+      : [];
+    return this.wordArr;
   }
 
   setupAutoScroll(autoscroll, scrollContainer) {
@@ -1051,7 +1070,9 @@ class HyperaudioLite {
       if (!this.myPlayer.paused || forceActiveWord) {
         activeWord.classList.add('active');
       }
-      activeParent.classList.add('active');
+      if (activeParent) {
+        activeParent.classList.add('active');
+      }
     }
 
     this.activeWordElement = activeWord;