(CNN)

Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium, is being treated for an ear injury apparently caused by a starter pistol fired at a Brussels road race.

It was supposed to be one of those routine ceremonial appearances that politicians make all the time.

Show up at a 20K race, wave to the crowd and cheer as the runners bolt from a starting line and dash through the streets of Brussels.  But for Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium, Sunday’s 20 kilometer de Bruxelles event has proven to be a little thorny. Michel says he has been suffering hearing loss since a starter pistol, signaling the beginning of the race, was fired near his left ear.

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