STUCK BUD MADE EAR A DUD

Golfer's relief after lodged flight aid left him deaf with poor balance for 5 years

- JOSEPH DRAPER

A FORMER Royal Navy engineer has had his hearing restored after discovering part of an old earbud had been stuck in his ear for five years.

Wallace Lee, 66, thought suddenly going partially deaf was due to a career of working with helicopter engines.

The keen golfer also suffered a loss of balance which affected his game.

Even when he developed an infection in his left ear, his GP couldn't find anything wrong due to the build-up of wax and prescribed him antibiotics.

Wallace, from Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, tried ear drops and warm water fired from a syringe for relief but nothing worked.