Hi, Thanks for your query. You seem to have an Eustachian tube block going by your symptoms. The Eustachian tube connects the back of the nose to the middle ear and can get blocked with a cold. This leads to some negative pressure building in your middle ear, hence the pressure and pain in the ears. I would recommend you to do Valsalva maneuver and use decongestant drops like oxymetazoline or xylometazoline. Take an antihistamine like fexofenadine/ cetrizine. Since you are a pilot and flying can lead to further pressure changes and can affect your eardrums, you should follow the above precautions. Use the nose drops half an hour before flying. Also chewing some gum during ascent/ descent will help. Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have further questions. Good luck, Dr Vaishali Mehta