A319 flight attendant reported a strong smelly sock odor followed by a headache and difficulty speak...

Narrative:

On gradual descent; a very strong 'smelly sock' odor occurred. The worst one in my 30 years. On arrival at the gate; I asked the first officer (first officer) about the odor and if they smelled it. He said yes and it was because the APU was turned on during descent. We were then to go on to do a turn. All 3 flight attendant's (flight attendants) said they felt odd. I said I could not pinpoint it but my head and body felt off. Half a headache and trouble speaking. I told the next flight deck about the situation. We took off and after about 15 minutes the captain called me and asked if we still smelled the odor. I said yes. A moment later he made a PA saying we were returning to due to [a mechanical problem] and possible oil leak. We landed and were met by supervisors asking how we felt and if we're going to continue to go on to do the turn. The captain said he did not feel safe going back on the plane. He had a headache and felt bad. He went to the chief pilot and then was going to the clinic. All 3 flight attendant's felt dizzy; half a headache; and just felt off. Supervisor told me my bottom lip was quivering when I was trying to speak. All 3 flight attendant's declined to work the turn and all went to the clinic. After the clinic; I stopped at er to tell them what happened. They had me call poison control. It took a full 2 days for me to return to somewhat normal.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Flight Attendant reported a strong smelly sock odor followed by a headache and difficulty speaking.

Narrative: On gradual descent; a very strong 'smelly sock' odor occurred. The worst one in my 30 years. On arrival at the gate; I asked the FO (First Officer) about the odor and if they smelled it. He said yes and it was because the APU was turned on during descent. We were then to go on to do a turn. All 3 FA's (Flight Attendants) said they felt odd. I said I could not pinpoint it but my head and body felt off. Half a headache and trouble speaking. I told the next flight deck about the situation. We took off and after about 15 minutes the Captain called me and asked if we still smelled the odor. I said yes. A moment later he made a PA saying we were returning to due to [a mechanical problem] and possible oil leak. We landed and were met by supervisors asking how we felt and if we're going to continue to go on to do the turn. The Captain said he did not feel safe going back on the plane. He had a headache and felt bad. He went to the chief pilot and then was going to the clinic. All 3 FA's felt dizzy; half a headache; and just felt off. Supervisor told me my bottom lip was quivering when I was trying to speak. All 3 FA's declined to work the turn and all went to the clinic. After the clinic; I stopped at ER to tell them what happened. They had me call poison control. It took a full 2 days for me to return to somewhat normal.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1503275
Time
Date	201712
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A319
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	APU
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Experience	Flight Attendant Airline Total 30 Flight Attendant Number Of Acft Qualified On 3 Flight Attendant Total 30 Flight Attendant Type 90
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor

A319 flight attendant reported a strong smelly sock odor followed by a headache and difficulty speaking.