The silence shattered.
Lena was lying on her side in bed, scrolling through her phone with the volume maxed out, just to hear a whisper of dialogue. She rolled over to switch off the lamp. And then— pop . ears feel clogged covid
“Mild case,” the doctor said over a staticky video call, his voice tinny and compressed. “The congestion is Eustachian tube dysfunction. Common with the new variants. It should clear up in a week or two.” The silence shattered
But two weeks passed, and the cotton remained. She tried everything: nasal sprays, decongestants, the Valsalva maneuver (which only made her see stars), and steaming showers that fogged the bathroom mirror but not her ears. She slept propped up on three pillows. She chewed gum until her jaw ached. And then— pop
Lena was making coffee when she noticed it. The usual percussive clatter of beans grinding sounded distant, like someone had placed a pillow over the machine. She shook her head, yawned wide, and swallowed. Nothing. Just a dull, pressurized fullness deep inside both ears.