Narrative:

As we got on the plane; I noticed a smell in the cabin. I was near the cockpit door and kept getting hints of a greasy/rotten smell. It went away for a little; but when I walked towards the back of the aircraft; the smell got stronger. The pilots asked if I wanted cleaners to come on; but the smell was something I recognized. It smelled like dirty socks. The pilots started the APU to see if it would clear it up. The aft door was open for catering reasons. I stayed on the aircraft in the front galley talking to the mechanics about another issue while the B and C flight attendants went into the jet bridge because the smell was so strong in the aft. After a few minutes; the smell seemed to dissipate and so we gave the okay to board. I noticed a slight headache; but thought it would go away. We started boarding and finished in about 30 minutes or so. During that time I was getting the galley ready for the flight. Once I stood still; I felt a little fuzzy headed and confused. The headache turned into a dull pain at the base of my neck that started to almost make me nauseous. There were supervisors who showed up to the aircraft; since we reported an odor earlier. The call was made to deplane after all three of us were feeling the same symptoms. I was still confused and my head hurt; so I wanted to get checked out by a doctor. As I was speaking to people; I noticed that my speech was very broken and slurred and I couldn't find any words or make any sense. The captain made an announcement to deplane and (supervisor who showed up to the gate) said I should get off the aircraft; since it was a safety situation; so I sat in the jet bridge as the rest of the guests deplaned. We then started the process to get checked at the hospital and run tests. We called [medical company] and gave them our information and symptoms. We ended up being seen almost four hours later at hospital near the ZZZ airport. There should be a more concise checklist to follow when an odor/air quality incident occurs. Also; I felt like we were not taken seriously at first and our symptoms got worse; being exposed to possible contamination for a longer period of time. Especially when we all had similar symptoms at the same time. I understand that there are false alarms; but if there's a way to get more information to crews; hospitals and clinics about these incidents; we can all learn more and be more informed about being safe in the workplace.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Flight Attendant crew reported persistent 'dirty socks' odor in passenger cabin during boarding. Maintenance had passengers deplaned. Flight attendants received medical treatment for physiological symptoms.

Narrative: As we got on the plane; I noticed a smell in the cabin. I was near the cockpit door and kept getting hints of a greasy/rotten smell. It went away for a little; but when I walked towards the back of the aircraft; the smell got stronger. The pilots asked if I wanted cleaners to come on; but the smell was something I recognized. It smelled like dirty socks. The pilots started the APU to see if it would clear it up. The aft door was open for catering reasons. I stayed on the aircraft in the front galley talking to the mechanics about another issue while the B and C Flight Attendants went into the jet bridge because the smell was so strong in the aft. After a few minutes; the smell seemed to dissipate and so we gave the okay to board. I noticed a slight headache; but thought it would go away. We started boarding and finished in about 30 minutes or so. During that time I was getting the galley ready for the flight. Once I stood still; I felt a little fuzzy headed and confused. The headache turned into a dull pain at the base of my neck that started to almost make me nauseous. There were supervisors who showed up to the aircraft; since we reported an odor earlier. The call was made to deplane after all three of us were feeling the same symptoms. I was still confused and my head hurt; so I wanted to get checked out by a doctor. As I was speaking to people; I noticed that my speech was very broken and slurred and I couldn't find any words or make any sense. The captain made an announcement to deplane and (supervisor who showed up to the gate) said I should get off the aircraft; since it was a safety situation; so I sat in the jet bridge as the rest of the guests deplaned. We then started the process to get checked at the hospital and run tests. We called [medical company] and gave them our information and symptoms. We ended up being seen almost four hours later at hospital near the ZZZ airport. There should be a more concise checklist to follow when an odor/air quality incident occurs. Also; I felt like we were not taken seriously at first and our symptoms got worse; being exposed to possible contamination for a longer period of time. Especially when we all had similar symptoms at the same time. I understand that there are false alarms; but if there's a way to get more information to crews; hospitals and clinics about these incidents; we can all learn more and be more informed about being safe in the workplace.

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.