Ah, worry not my dear friend, there are some key bindings that will do the same thing. And in many cases, will actually be faster than the wheel.
The defaults are:
Zoom in-------------------V
Zoom out-----------------B
Instant Zoom Close-------Z
Instant Zoom Medium-----X
Instant Zoom Far---------C
Instant Zoom Context----Caps Lock
Your best friend in this situation is Caps Lock, It's great from going in on the action, telling units what to do, press the same key again and easily go to another planet to build some stuff. Anyways, happing hunting.
