“I think it must be a sign that I had been listening to LH “
obviously everyone is entitled to their own cheshbonos but instead of thinking I was subject to someone elses wrong, I have thought of ear ailments to be a sign that I may not have listened appropriately to the words/cries/heart of others. But that’s just my personal thought, we obviously have no idea what Hashem is doing and can only use it as a sign that we have to work on ourselves. That is just an additional message that a person looking to grow can consider.