Remote and Microphone not working

The microphone and remote on my Apple headphones do not work on any of my devices. I do not know what the issue is, since it was fully functional one day and not the next day. I have tried cleaning the microphone, but now the piece of plastic that is supposed to cover the microphone is off. I was wondering one of the following questions. Is there a way to fix the microphone and remote on the headphones or is there a way to use my computer's microphone instead of the one on my headphones?