Inner ear is no laughing matter.
I had several months off work due to barotrauma from a very very mild cold (just a nose sniffle!!) leading to inner ear problems - vestibular disfunction.
Not fun unable to even drive a car - because you feel too "drunk".
Tried going back to work a little too early - the simulator completely stuffed my head up and basically had to "relearn" the eye and balance co-ordination - took a long long time.
From my experience - I will NEVER ever go near an aircraft with any cold or ear problems. The unexpected results are not worth it.
I now have grommets in the ears to help prevent colds from inflaming the issue (I would subsequently get blocked ears with any remote sniffle).