Molly, there's a lot of confusion about ear issues and diving.
HERE is an essay I wrote a while back, to try to help folks with this distinction. You might also learn a good deal from
THIS video (warning, it is long) which is extremely educational.
From the description of your symptoms, this sounds much more like barotrauma than swimmer's ear. Barotrauma is distressingly common in OW students, and if you were, in fact, not equalizing on the way down, that would definitely do it. There is no specific treatment for barotrauma. People will recommend the use of decongestants like Sudafed, antiinflammatories like ibuprofen, and even mechanical drainage by things like chewing gum. I'm unaware of any study documenting the efficacy of any of these things, but they are fairly harmless and might help.
If you are still having significant muffled hearing or ear pain by the weekend, it's not a good idea to dive. If you are down to just a little crackling, then if you can equalize on land, you're probably okay in the water, so long as you are meticulous about remembering to clear your ears. Barotrauma IS cumulative, though, so if you try too early, you may completely jinx yourself for the following week's pool session.
