Hi all,
Of course I shall begin with my own disclaimer, stating that any advice on here will be taken purely as informative and more out of interest to see if anybody else has experienced this symptom.
I fly a lot these days (circa 3-6 hours a day, seven days a week depending on various factors), and during the last couple of days have noticed something that's got me worried.
First off, I firmly believe this may be a sinus issue - this is in an unpressurized aircraft, first instance descending from 8,000 feet, second time round descending from 7,000 feet, both to ground level. Descent rate around 1,000/1,500 fpm, so nothing harsh. On both occasions, passing below about 4,000 feet (where the rate of air pressure change increases significantly), I notice a mild numbing pain above my left eyebrow. Getting closer to 3,000', in the first instance, this transformed into blindingly severe pain which then seemed to spread towards my nose, and behind my eyeball.
This actually drove me to the point where I had no option but to put on the power and climb 500 feet or so, and it took a few seconds, but gradually the pain subsided, although at one point I physically had to shut my left eye and I covered it with my hand for fear that every blood vessel in my eye was about to go kaput. It left that part of my face feeling numb. Second time round I was prepared for it, and shallowed off the descent quickly, both resulting in a safe landing. I must make it clear, I only took to higher altitudes a second time as I believed I may have had a 'temporary' blockage somewhere which had cleared overnight, but evidently not...
Sorry for the long post, and again to be clear, I'm not seeking professional advice on here, what I'm really after is anybody else's experience with this in particular.
Thanks to all and best regards.
