Oh yeah that! XD They told me that as soon as I feel the pressure start, not when it gets bad, when it starts, to plug my nose and blow as hard as I can. It's better to pop them yourself before all of the pressure builds up. Usually, after a flight, I can't hear until the next day after I've slept it off, but using that trick made me good as new stepping off of the plane.
Also, my real neighbors would absolutely try to do my word search if they could get away with it! They know everything about everyone. If you get caught outside when they are, you won't get out of a conversation for at least 30 min.