I can't block my nose in that way. I tried when your comment came in, but I can't conceive of how to do it.
With the ear popping thing, I just hear the rushing of my breath. I can see how you might be able to hear your heart. I might be making this up in my head, but I feel like maybe I could hear it when I was younger.
I do this thing where I pop my ears (like when pressure changes from altitude) and then it's like I'm hearing my breathing inside of my sinuses or something. When I breathe this way, it effectively blocks conversations I don't want to overhear. Do other people do this, or am I odd?
So that explains the apparent undead working for them...I only read the first book or three and it's been a minute. This is the sign for me to go back and finish the series.
That would be phenomenal, but I imagine it's unlikely.
However, if we're in the realm of unlikely scenarios, maybe they can give me a follow-up to Xcom: Enemy Within that proceeds from an Xcom victory in the first game. I never got into Xcom 2 because it ignored the buildup to the greater enemy foreshadowed at the end of Enemy Within. Not knocking those who liked what we got...it just didn't work for me.