Thanks for this. The flight was basically fine, although I was pretty nervous the whole time. Took a decongestant and used nasal spray, plus kept the Ear Planes in the entire flight.

I'll keep in mind the pressure on the soft palate--willing to try anything! Hopefully, though, this is only something I'm going to need to do if congested. I fly at least 50K miles a year, and would like to be able to keep doing so without courting pressure-related panic attacks and pain.