Ear Discomfort and Pilots

[TheCosmicFrog]

I'm sure this has been asked multiple times, but I couldn't find a thread about it.

Since so many of us (including me) suffer from ear discomfort relating to air pressure on flights, surely many of the pilots on PPRuNE do too.

So how do you guys cope with these pains?
Do you notice it less while piloting?
Since it's always worse with illness, what happens when you are sick?
Are there any tricks of the trade?

I badly want to work as a pilot, but fear that ear popping and pressure pains will marr my career and cause me to dread each day.

Thanks for any help!