May have something to do with this ?
Glue ear is very common in children. Mr Johnson’s seemingly cleared up although he did use it to his advantage, even at that innocent age. Are you suggesting he’s been re-afflicted with this 50 years later?
“While Johnson is known for his booming voice, boisterous behavior and creative use of language (including Latin and Greek), he was much more subdued as a child. In fact, until the age of eight, Johnson was severely deaf because of glue ear, a condition where the ear canal fills with fluid that can cause temporary hearing loss. Although he now jokes that he exaggerated his condition as a youngster to avoid boring conversations, he did have to wear a grommet, a small tube surgically implanted in the eardrum to drain liquid.”
