Going on a flight and woried about pressure on ears

For about the past year I've been struggling with my ears. Everytime I swallow I hear this crackling noise and once in a while there will be this irritating pressure in my ears. Now I went to see my doctor and she said that when she looks in my ear that there is no liquid in front of the ear or behind it. That is probably the reason why I have experienced no hearing loss. But anyway what I think it might be is liquid trapped in the eustachian tubes. Now my real question is that I've been planning this trip to Ireland and the U.K. for over a year now and I will be flying around the end of this month. I am worried however about my ears. Now what I'm asking is "What will the pressure on my flight do to my ears?' Is there a possibilty of me rupturing an eardrum? Also does anybody know what I could do to help protect my ears on the flight? I did a little research on the internet and found this product called "Earplanes" which are plugs which are supposed to help releive pressure, but I would like to hear the opinion of the community.