Ears Stuffy From Cold Work Access

He looked at himself in the steamy mirror. His eyes were glassy, his nose red, his expression one of profound, frustrated loneliness. He was right here, in the heart of his home, surrounded by the people he loved most, and he was marooned on an island of silence.

Alex saw the flash of red construction paper. He saw the enthusiastic, slightly crooked drawing of a triangle with fire coming out the bottom. He saw his son's proud, expectant face. But the boy's voice was a tiny, faraway squeak, like a mouse on a microphone.

"He. Loves. You. And. So. Do. I. It. Will. Pass." ears stuffy from cold

The worst moment came when his son, Leo, burst into the room. "Daddy! I drew a rocket ship!"

But the worst part, the most isolating part, was his ears. He looked at himself in the steamy mirror

The rest of the world was a distant radio station playing on the wrong frequency.

Desperate, Alex retreated to the bathroom. He stood under the shower, letting the scalding water beat down on his head. The roar of the water was a dull, percussive thud, but it did nothing to clear the clogged feeling. He tried the old trick: pinching his nose and gently blowing. A tiny, pathetic squeak. Nothing. Alex saw the flash of red construction paper

Getting out of bed was a journey into a muted world. The creak of the floorboards was a dull thud. The gurgle of the coffee maker was a distant, subterranean rumble. He tried to watch the morning news, but the anchor's voice was a garbled monotone, lost beneath the roaring silence in his own head. He saw a report about a storm and a car chase, but it felt like a silent film. The ticker at the bottom of the screen became his only news source.