Belgian PM suffers hearing loss after princess fires starting pistol

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was forced to seek medical treatement after Princess Astrid fired a starter's pistol signaling the start of a 20K road race in Brussels.

Prime Minister Michel was standing too close to Princess Astrid at one of the routine ceremonial appearances during a 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.

Michel has been suffering hearing loss since a starter pistol, signaling the beginning of the race, was fired near his left ear, CNN quoted the Prime Minister's spokesman, Barend Leyts, as saying.

Michel, 41, is following a series of treatments for the injury and is still coming to work between doctor appointments, Leyts said.

The Prime Minister had to cancel a meeting at Parliament on Tuesday morning, but his schedule has not been cleared and his office is going about things as normally as possible, Leyts said.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)