The last couple of flights where I have gone above 7000 ft, I have
experienced this strange physiological effect:

My left front teeth, gum, and upper lip go completely numb, exactly as if
I
had gotten a shot of novocaine. It stays that way until I start
descending.
This happened to me once on an airline flight years ago, and was
accompanied
by a splitting sinus headache. The two recent events have been pain free,
but it's disconcerting to have parts of your body lose feeling while
flying.
I had a linering low-grade cold during the first flight, but it had
cleared
up by the second. My father (a physician) had never heard of anything
like
this, but hypothesized that my sinus is swelling up and pressing on the
facial nerve in that area.

So, has anyone experienced anythning like this, and what can I possibly do
to stop it?

Jeremy


I have a similar problem. When I have seasonal allergies and get stuffy for
a few weeks at a time, I have to blow my nose a lot. If I blow too hard, I
will start to get the same kind of numbness you describe. This happens on
the ground. Less often, when flying privately or commercially with allergy
symptoms, I'll get the numbness with fast pressure changes. I've never had
it happen just by being at altitude, and it never happens unless its
associated with allergy problems. I had my dentist take some X-rays and he
said my teeth and nerves are a lot closer to my sinus cavity on the left
side where I have the numbness problem than on the right. Said there was
nothing permanently that could be done except with facial surgery. My
solution to the problem is much easier - Allegra D stop the sinus
inflamation ! Going flying actually helps my symptoms, maybe because I'm
away from the allergens in the air near the surface.