Year old cat with diminished meow & strange breathing?

On Thursday, everyone was gone from the house & when we returned, my cat Kenobi was just laying around and hasn't been as active as usual. When I picked him up, I noticed that his meow was muted. I looked in his mouth & found nothing. I covered each nostril one at a time with my finger to see if it was just one side - and it turns out his wheezing is coming from his left nostril only. Occasionally, he tries to yack or clear his throat and I assume he has a hairball. I've been feeding him high calorie gel nutrients just to make sure he's getting his vitamins. He doesn't feel dehydrated, but this wheezing is really starting to bother me. My mom said he ate a bug Wednesday night, and I gave him a tapeworm pill on Tuesday after I noticed he had worms (which have gone away). On the bottle, it lists no respiratory or heart problems as side effects of the medicine. My vet is two hours away from where I'm staying right now, and I'm just trying to find some answers before I go home on Tuesday. Could nasal polyps develop this quickly? Or is it just a hairball? Any suggestions would be much appreciated! May the Force be with you!