I experience this smell quite often. Nobody else seems to be able to smell it, but the sensation is very pronounced to me. After dealing with it for many months, sometimes for a week at a time, I finally discovered it is coming from compact fluorescent bulbs!

I can smell them before they actually burn out. Trying to determine where the smell originated was quite difficult. I was unsuccessful in determining the origin until I was replacing a bulb and held the old one directly under my nose.

Since I discovered the origin of that smell, I now have the ability to predict bulb failure up to a week in advance. Nobody else can smell it, and I mean absolutely nobody I know. The smell is so strong to me that it sometimes makes my eyes water.

This doesn't explain numbness, but check all your CFL bulbs closely! The numbness could be unrelated.