This is what it says on my Olfactory Function Test results. Olfactory function testing was administered using the butanol odor detection threshold test and the seven item odor identification test. My butanol detection threshold scores were 10/50 on both the left and right sides.
In the odor identification test, I was unable to correctly identify all seven of the common test odorants except for one, baby powder. Trigeminal nasal sensations were evaluated using Wintergreen, Vicks and Ammonia and were found to be intact bilaterally. Test results indicate that I have SEVERE HYPOSMIA on both the right and left side. My score is 20/100 (too close to anosmic!).
This is how the scale goes;
0-10 Anosmic
20-40 Severely Hyposmic
50-60 Moderately Hyposmic
70-80 Mildly Hyposmic
90-100 Normosmic
I am still only getting distorted smells. I haven’t had a ‘normal’ smell so far. The bad smell in my nose is still always there but not as horrifying as it used to be last month. It’s still rusty, rotten and rancid; not a pleasant smell to wake up with every day at all.
Food has no flavor. I don’t even know why I still have the urge to eat at all. It’s mostly to experiment if things will taste somewhat different and better. Fried food is the worst. I can’t stand the smell, I don’t eat it at all. (Well I try a couple of fries once in a while to see if there’s any improvement.) Fish is still the easiest to tolerate. Salad is good, refreshing and crunchy. It’s all about texture now anyway. The worst part is fruits even don’t taste right. Strawberries and bananas still smell/taste rotten! 
I can somewhat enjoy apples and red grapes (green ones are too sour). It’s odd because I normally like sour, and don’t care too much about sweets.
Of course another bummer is I can’t taste chocolate! Sweets seem to have the same weird smell and taste. I can tell if there’s an ice-cream shop around from the waffle cone smells, but it’s nothing like the real smell of the waffle cones which I used to love. Desserts, cakes, cookies all taste the same!
I’ll go try my husband’s crepes with chocolate sauce now which used to be one of my favorite breakfasts. I wish I could smell/taste at least some of the food somewhat normal. The smell I am getting from the kitchen so far is nothing like it should be.
59 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 26, 2007 at 11:31 am
snail
I believe I have hyposmia as well, but not as severe as you do. I’ve noticed that foods have become less satisfying than just a few years ago. It seems to be getting worse as times passes. I remember smells from childhood, that no longer seem to be there (like the air after it rains).
Sweets do mostly taste the same for me as well, have you tried honey since your diagnosis? I can taste that pretty well (I think).
I can’t smell myself or much anything else. On rare occasion I can smell honeysuckles or pineapples. I can detect things like positively charged air from copy machines and car exhaust rather well though.
I think that mine is caused by a deviated septum, which from what I’ve read is usually repairable. I’m looking more into it now.
I hope you do recover some of your sense of smell.
June 29, 2007 at 11:29 am
Ipek
I haven’t tried honey yet, I will. I can detect some odors but in distorted ways. Nothing smells ‘normal’ since my injury. I hope you can find some good doctors.
September 7, 2007 at 9:08 am
Doug
Your experience is fascinating. Its amazing how much the brain seems to impact taste. All the best on your continued improvement.
September 12, 2007 at 5:17 am
Frank Moynihan
I hit my head about 3 years ago fractured the base of my skull and bleed into my ear and had the worst ever headaches for about 2 weeks the way I used to describe it to people is that it was like a constant lightning storm in my head I could not sleep in my bed for about a month because as soon lay down the storm would intensify and it felt like my eyes were being pushed out of my head. Thank god that got better but my sense of smell or lack of it remains the same. I can tell if there is a dramatic change in smell but only that there has been a change not what it has changed to. Food pretty much has different degrees of tasting horrible as I seem to have one taste for everything be it toothpaste or a piece of chicken sometimes I think I can taste something like an orange but I think that really is from memory and not that I can actually taste it. The bad news is I have not come across anything to make it any better by now I can tolerate the horrible taste part but will never fully get used to it and certain fruits like water melon I can eat with out getting that taste the rest of the time I just let myself get that hungry before I eat that it does not matter what it tastes like its just fuel. Well that might not be any help to you but if you do come across any solution or if I do let me know and I will do likewise.
September 21, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Mary
Can you tell me how to find a doctor willing to give the Olfactory Fuction Test? I was hit by a car February 21,2007.I have lost my smell and taste. The nuerologist I see says why do I want one. If I can’t smell ,I can’t smell. I really don’t need the frustation this is causing me. Any suggestions?
September 21, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Ipek
I totally understand your frustration Mary. I am sorry about your accident.
Most of the so-called specialists, even ENTs who specialize in the nose are clueless about these kind of smell disorders! How is your smell since the accident? Any improvements at all?
There are about ten Smell and Taste Clinics in the US. I went to the one in Richmond as that was the closest to me. Check the Table 5 on this site;
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000115/427.html
Best of luck!
September 22, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Mary
Thank you for the site,I will check it out today.My smell has not improved yet. I do have a sickening type of smell once in a while. I thought that it was a signal that there was a smell in the air,but the last few times I’ve been told that there was nothing friends could detect. When I eat anything sweet I have the same mildly disgusting taste. It would be so much easier just to know it ’s gone for good and get on with our lives. Did going to the clinic help you?
Take care
October 5, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Robyn
I had a large brain tumour removed seven months ago in the olfactory groove (frontal lobe), and my olfactory bulbs (which make you smell) were destroyed. The tumour ate one and my neurosurgeon said he tried to save the other but couldn’t. So…I was told I would never smell again. I had lost my sense of smell mostly prior to the surgery but I felt sure I could smell for about 24/48 hours afterwards. I distinctly remember smelling the lovely scented moist cloths I had brought. Then, I got a weird cigarette smoke/perfume phantom smell that was pretty overwhelming for a few days. Food tasted rancid as well, even tea. After that passed, I really could not smell but could taste ok. I had loads of flowers and tried to smell them so hard I had pollen all over my face but nada. Anyway- just in the last month or so, I have been experiencing what can only be phantom smells. Gas, burning odours, perfumey smells etc. Sometimes it’s freaky as I think brielfly something is on fire. Must be my memory or something. I really feel for you people who are having the horrible smells and sorry I can’t offer any suggestions…just felt like sharing what’s happening with me. I wonder if I should tell my neurosurgeon or GP? It’s happening more frequently and a tiny part of me still hopes that somehow I will get my sense of smell back even though it seems impossible.
December 13, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Harv
I had exactly what you describe in this “severe Hyposmia” piece. It began one day after I was camping with a large group of friends/family. I can remember thinking that I was smelling some of the clams we had cooked the night before, but after we left, this odd rubbery seafood smell was coming from some snacks I wanted to eat. Then I tried a chocolate chip cookie and threw it out because I was sure it was spoiled. – within a few hours I realized that something was very wrong!! Either all chocolate had changed flavor (the great chocolate conspiracy?) or my sense of smell was WAY out of whack! Tuna fish was unbearable. Breads and baked goods tasted funny, the smell of fried food and car exhaust were indestinguishable from eachother… I was not enjoying this sensory “bad-trip”!!! My old friends , peanut butter and chocolate were not any comfort to me when I would leave something cooking and burn dinner because I didn’t smell it -until it was too late (had I cooked by smell before? – YEP). It was not just disturbing, but DANGEROUS. My wife came to me one day – “I smell gas” she said. What could I do? I was the one who could zero in on such problems in the past – not any more!
I began to get used to it over the first year. My kids would eat chocolate and then sit on my lap and watch me wince in disgust at the smell of my old weakness! I basically was on a south beach diet…some veggies, some meat, very little bread or baked goods. I dropped about 30 lbs in the first year. I asked the doctor and he put me on a large round of heavy antibiotics that messed my stomach up for a couple months, and he gave me a sinus spray. It did nothing. I read all I could, but I realized that it would probably just stay like this. I had become so accustomed to it, after a year or so, that occasionally I would go to the cupboard to try some M&M’s, in case I had returned to normal…alas… the M&M was the sad messenger – so sweet and appealing to the eye, but still disgusting at first bite!
A year and a half into my slimmer-trimmer bad smelling experience I awoke to a familiar smell one day. Someone in the house had something that smelled an awful lot like what I remembered good-old chocolate smelling like. How could this be? Was it fake chocolate? Was I dreaming?
My wife was making brownies… OF Course they were for WORK (whenever she bakes, it is for work) . I stumbled to the forbidden M&M cupboard… prepared myself for the usual disappointment, and put one in my mouth. BLISS !!! Could it be real? Would it be back for an hour, a day, a week perhaps? I knew that I had little time to waste. First order of business was a peanut butter and banana sandwich – lightly toasted. Then – Off to Friendly’s for a giant reeces pieces sunday with forbidden chocolate ice cream! It had to be done! Who knew if this would last? This could be just one last dance with my old nose before it gives up for good!!!
One year later – My sense of smell returned that day and has been completely normal ever since. Now and then I will sense a faint reminder of that foul smell that darkened my joy of food for a year and a half, but it quickly fades and I am back to normal. Of course I gained back the weight that I had lost, but I am back to cooking and eating and receiving more joy from every smell than I ever had before!
Cross your fingers, it may just return to normal one day.
Good Luck!
Harv
October 21, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Amy
Oh my gosh, Harv!
Tears are running down my cheeks. I am so happy for you and hopeful for me as well!!
I lost my sense of smell and taste last May after a week with a really bad virus. It was the sickest I have ever been. I love to cook and used to be what my husband refered to as a “supertaster”. I worry about gas smells too. I suffer from this every day in silence.
I usually have a bad taste in my mouth, sometimes plasticky, at its worst it tastes and smells like burnt, wet, wood. *sigh*
Sometimes I wonder if this is some kind of karmic retribution, because when my Dad was in his eighties I used to cook for him all the time. He used to always say it didn’t matter what I cooked because he couldn’t taste anything and I would get so tired of him saying it. I suppose he wanted sympathy, but he’s not the easiest person to get along with!
- anyways this is payback- a lesson in empathy.
I dream of it coming back- like yours did, and you gave me real hope.
Thanks, Harv!
<3 Amy
March 10, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Sibylle Hartmann
A few month ago I started smelling something like Diesel Fumes. First I thought there was a truck next to me, but when I got home, the smell was still with me and has not left since. I also noticed that certain things don’t smell like they used to. It’s like my body chemistry changed! It is very annoying and I sure would like to find out why I have this symptom. If anyone experiences the same, (smelling Diesel Fumes constantly) please email me. I do have an appt with an ENT, so we will see, but from what I gather in these comments, no one seems to know!
August 13, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Anonymous
Hello,
I started having the same diesel smell sensation in mid-2007 and it stayed with me for months. Did the physician, ENT and even brain scan tests but nothing was revealed. It eventually went away, but just started again this past week. I smell it most of the time – home, work, restaurants, etc. Obviously, some hyposmia related issue.
What did you ever find out about your situation and did you find other info on the web that provided any insight??
Thanks,
Tom
Tustin, CA
56 years old
March 13, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Anonymous
I am suffering from a musky type smell. I smell it all the time. It doesn’t affect my taste buds and I don’t think it is a body odor ON me but rather something that is IN me. It is driving me out of my mind. The smell makes me sick and I get headaches from smelling it. Can anyone suggest something to help?
March 13, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Sam Fields
omg
i have been looking for everywhere for something associated with this! i suffered a large trauma to my head wihch the docs are explaining as concussion, but i’ve lost all sense of taste or smeel since. sorry about the spelling, i’ve gotten a bit slow too. they reckon it should all go, but its absolutely rank! i’ve smoked a lot less since mind, because now it tastes like absolute sh**!
May 24, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Barbara
Wheew, Thought I would never find a website about loss of smell and taste and not chronic anosmia. I now do not feel alone. Had a cold on April 18, 2008 and never got my smell and taste back. Depression….depression. I can taste fruit and some sugary stuff. Some bitter stuff I can taste too. I can almost taste Honey Nut Cheerios. But I can smell nothing unless I put my face into coffe grounds or soap. Went to a regular dr. He did not care. Went to a ENT and had a catscan. The nurse said it came back negative but the Dr. has gone on vacation for the entire week. Keeping some hope here but losing weight rapidly and hate, hate to cook. I have to almost force feed myself all meals.
PS. April 18 was my birthday party……
Arggggggggggggg………
May 27, 2008 at 10:08 pm
CMac
havnt had any smell or taste for about six years, have been to a few doctors, but their arrogant attitude annoys me…comments such as ‘well i dont know why you cant smell or taste etc…. many $’s later still cant smell or taste!1 i now stick with the stuff i remember the smell or taste of….may as well get on with life this way hey? i do know if i do let it slip that i cant smell or taste anything i still recieve an odd look ha ha .
May 29, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Barbara
CMac: I feel your pain. If I mention it at work, I get this HUH? look. So I don’t usually even go into it. And as far as Drs. are concerned? I would get more attention from my veterinarian. And I also stick to stuff I can remember and enjoyed. Also, I really throw myself into hobbies that require no eating…..lol. I love Nascar, reading, and painting. So there you go! Figure I am saving a lot of money NOT going out to restaurants.
July 19, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Ronnie
I had a motorcycle wreck about a year ago. I had multiple facial fractures and brain injury. Since the wreck, nothing taste or smells right. Foods I used to love have a horrible taste now. I cannot eat harly any meat. Even hamburgers and meatloaf (my favorite) taste like rotten meat. I get so hungry but everything taste terrible. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight that I didn’t need to lose. Mealtime is torture. I read somewhere to try zinc supplement. I’m going to get some tomorrow, can’t hurt to try, can’t make anything taste any worse.
July 21, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Barbara
Ronnie: Have you tried to eat fruit? It is the only thing I can taste. I can taste strawberries and watermelon. I can taste yogurt too. And sweet tea. Lemons. I can taste lemons too. For some odd reason I can taste some cereal like Crispix by Kelloggs. I can not tolerate any meat and hamburger is the worst. I have not tried zinc but please advise if it helps. I am at the point that I will buy anything that will help.
July 24, 2008 at 6:20 pm
mico
I just discovered this site while searching for more information about my condition, which is anosmia or severe hyposmia I suppose. I basically can’t smell anything. I am 56 and suffered a series of sinus infections beginning last summer and continuing into spring of 2008. I hadn’t previously had a problem with my sinuses. The doctor kept giving me antibiotics and Nasonex. At some point I realized that I couldn’t smell anymore. Seems like it happened very quickly. The doctor did a surgery in May to clear out my sinuses but so far the sense of smell isn’t returning. He said we had to wait until the end of the year to see if it returned. I haven’t had any formal testing of my sense of smell, but he held an alcohol swab under my nose and I caught the faintest odor….more like the memory of a smell than the real thing. He said that any smell at all was cause for optimism. Of course my sense of taste has been impacted too….not distorted, fortunately, but just…gone. The only thing I can reliably taste is salt. Meat is like eating a wet sponge. I just ate some cherries and they weren’t unpleasant, just tasteless. Anyway, some of the posts on this site are really touching so I haven’t hadn’t it too bad all things considered. I am especially interested in anything that might help an eventual recovery. I still use Nasonex 1x a day in each nostril.
July 26, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Barbara
Mico: I too am your age and never had any sinus problems just the regular colds. Well, this last cold, my taste and smell just gone. Very fast too. I have had a catscan and it was negative. I can’t breath in the morning. But I can taste fruit and sweet food. No doctor in this small town wants to help so I have to rely on this board for info. I don’t use any nasal spray as they did not help me at all.
August 18, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Blister72
Reading all of these posts it makes me wonder what is up with our atmosphere, and sympathy at the same time.
I myself at age 36 have had horrible sinus issues my entire life. I have tried it all, except for major sinus surgery. I have done all of the sprays, like Nasonex, Afrin (which is the WORST!), Sinus Buster (hot pepper capsaicin bite..ouch!), Flonase, etc…
I haven’t lost all of my taste and smell, but the nose is going. I can also blame part of that on my 10 years or so of smoking, as I know this just kills and paralyzes the hairs in the nose, which are supposed to keep germs and dust out. My bad and I really should quit, to rule out smoking as the sinus problem. I know it would obviously be the cause of tastebud death too.
Smoking is bad kids..Mmmkay? Repeated bouts with sinusitis is just too frequent these days, so maybe mold is the trigger. I don’t have a GP, nor do I feel like making an appointment with an ENT, as I have done that all before, and you see that they just treat the masses and not the individual.
Anyway, the latest treatment is salt water irrigation with a SinusRinse gadget, and it seems to work a bit to flush out what I swear is a fungal infection in my sinus cavities (I swear sometimes it smells like a stink, old, wet, sponge which has been on the kitchen sink WAY TOO LONG!)
I will continue with the salt water rinse, but have been looking into anti-fungal topical solutions, or powder, which I can add to the mix and kill that stinky old sponge smell, and get my normal sense of smell back.
I would love to stop and smell the roses, if I didn’t have to get right up on them with my nose directly on the flower.
Good luck all! I feel your pain…
Who doesn’t miss the smell of PlayDoh? I LOVE that smell from childhood days!
August 24, 2008 at 8:28 pm
juan
I lost my taste and smell do to a head ingury will i ever get it back
August 25, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Harvey
Barbara–born on 4/18—have had exactly the same symptoms as you had–but occurred on 7/8/08—had a virus with high fever–102.5–took antibiotic–doxycycline –fever left in 2 days and broke out with severe fever blisters on LOWER lip only–after thast healed–no smell and taste–it has been 6 weeks–have tried a cortisone treatment and zinc and biotin—no luck yet–you have an suggewstions–how abouth that Pepper spray???
August 27, 2008 at 1:58 am
Adri
Hi Barbara and Harvey, I had a severe flu (think it was influenza virus) on 04/04/2008. I’ve tried cortisone treatment (nasal spray), antihistamines, zinc, and nothing… I’ve been researching a lot and I’ve found out that most people who lost their smell and taste after a flu, they recover it spontaneously after a year of losing it… I also read in another blog that a lady recover her smell and taste by taking alpha lipoic acid, I haven’t tried it, it’s not very common in my country…
Anyway, if you know something about treatments, medicine, etc. pleaseeeeee e-mail me, I’m willing to try everything.. I’m desperate, really paranoid with food, I rather throw it away that risk myself into eating something rotten, happend with milk once :S
August 29, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Barbara
To all above…I have tried everything so far. Cat scan, nasal rinse, antibiotics, sinus meds, and nothing has worked so far. I am getting used to it now..but I can not taste anything but sweet stuff. I can smell stuff if I get right on it but not in the air. I think the one ENT I went to said it MIGHT come back after a year or so, but I am not holding my breath on it. I can still taste fruit too and yogurt. I have just had to move on..hope is getting dim. Sorry I am not more helpful but there just does not seem to be much hope here.
August 30, 2008 at 1:08 pm
fjb
I don’t know if I have written this. I’ll add it again because I think it might help the frustration here. I love food, science, and meditation. There was a lecture at NYC museum on the sense of taste and Indian food way back when this just had happened to me, and I actually had bought the tickets previous to the sensory impairment. The writer broke down the several taste sensations, beyond what we learn in elemetary school, and the biologist discussed the biology of taste. He does his work at Columbia U. He noted that the sense of taste if very poorly understood, and without treatment. This is probably why we are all being met with the eternal shrug by doctors. There are a few centers around the country that are medical and study the loss to taste. However, treatment for it is limited. In other words, there’s a chance it will return. From what I have read head injury, a microbe, and hormone changes cause the loss of taste. I haven’t yet made that appointment in Philly. The infection is better, but not gone, but I am frustrated out of my mind that I have to go from doctor to doctor to get treatment, especially since antibiotics make it better, but they don’t treat it long enough to make it all go away. And, this is why we get super bugs, not from the over use of antibiotics, but the lack of knowledge on how to use them effectively in effect doing selective breeding, but that a story for the tick diseases message board, and the time an infectious disease specialist looked at the laundry list of antibiotics my husband had been given for what was easily curable with a week of Augmentin, and stated, “Where do they learn to use antibiotics?”
September 21, 2008 at 10:18 pm
peanut69
Oh my God, I’m in heaven!! Not because we all can’t taste or smell, but because I found you, I’ve been looking for you for 18 months. I’m near tears, I’m so happy to find people like me, I thought that I was all alone with nobody that understood me.
I got Bronchitis 18 months ago, was treated with Agumentin & a nasal spray and lost my sense of taste & smell. At first, I thought it was because I was sick, but it never returned. I told my doctor repeatedly, at first he blew me off a few times, then he told me to live with it and did nothing to even find out what might be wrong, needless to say I got a new one (after a year of dealing with the old one). The new doctor took me more seriously and sent me to an ENT doctor right away. I have had a full physical, all kinds of blood work done, MRI’s and Cat scans done, thankfully there is nothing seriously wrong with me, I am perfectly healthy (besides the two faulty senses). I went to a specialist, he was sympathetic, however all he could do for me was put me on every nasal spray known to mankind and a nasal wash (yuck!!).
In the beginning I sensed a chemical taste and smell, not around me, but coming out of me. My son would always tell me I smelled bad and that my breath was stinky (things everybody loves to hear). I don’t know if I could really smell it or not, but I knew it was there somehow. I absolutely could not believe it, nothing could be tasted or smelled in the beginning, then gradually just extreme sweet, bitter, sour, and tart could be tasted, however my smells are all distorted, nothing smells normal, if I can smell it at all. Thank God for “good ” phantom smells. Very slowly some more tastes are gradually coming back.
The loss of smell can be so dangerous, I’ve burned dinners (I only did that once before when I was a kid, I was a cook by trade, not anymore, I became unsure of what I was serving people and didn’t want to hurt anyone), I cannot smell smoke from a fire, the gas from my stove, I can’t smell any chemical smells, automotive odors, or “bad” food. There, however, are some smells I don’t mind not smelling, skunks, trash, bathroom odors, ect. (lol). I do miss the smell of the air after it rains, fresh cut grass, how my flower garden smells, dirt (a gardener’s thing, I think) and of course food (I have always loved to cook).
I hope they come back, but until then I have to be happy with every “new” taste or “new” smell, because is one more than I had before. I wish everyone the best and may we all get these two senses back!! I always took them for granted , not anymore, I appreciate all that I can taste and the little bit of smells that I have.
September 22, 2008 at 4:10 am
peanut69
I forgot to mention I can taste salty and spicy, which lead me to believe it is a smelling problem that I have (check out… What is loss of smell, May 4, 2007). I have been on this site all night and read everything here, I have found lots to talk to my doctors about. Thank you, to everyone for all the input, understanding, and sympathy. None of my family or friends (not to mention doctors) get it. As the old saying goes…it takes one to know one (we seem to all be in similar boats). I have been tested by all of them (the great “see if she can taste or smell it” quiz), like I would make this up, who would joke about not being able to taste or smell? My mom is the only one who truly sees how much this has impacted my life and also was the first to mention the dangers to me, even before I realized them for myself (that’s a mom for you, your always her child no matter your age). I wish all of you the best. I’m going to try some of the stuff I learned here and make an appointment with my doctor (I have some questions for him, I hope he can answer them or at least point me in the right direction). I’ll keep you posted.
October 16, 2008 at 1:06 pm
carolyn
Barbara,
Wow a person with the same problem I had a bad cold Dec. /07 and it is now Oct. /08 and no smell just taste. No one understands and I feel that people even your loved ones think your faking it. I have not lost weight I keep trying food thinking that might be the one that gives me smell. Sometime I eat to much, the full trigger does not kick in fast enough.
Doctors in Ontario Canada, don’t seem to care and our health care is so maxed that they wont even look at me serious unless of course I had a mental breakdown which I am not about to even go there.
October 16, 2008 at 1:13 pm
carolyn
Peanut69
I totally understand I got a nasty cold in Dec./07 it is now Oct/08. You have described to a T what i am experiencing.
Thank you now I am not alone. Any advise please post.
C.
October 18, 2008 at 6:46 am
peanut69
Carolyn,
On this site, go to August 2008, the first post “Vitamins” it has 17 comments, click on the comments. Adri had a blog about a study done on Alpha Lipoic Acids (ALA), go a bit further down and you’ll find Anonymous, it’s a long blog, but it tells you all about ALA what it is and what it’s for.
Google… “Anosmia & Alpha Lipoic Acid” you will find many things there. This is how I found the study that Adri talks about. I saved a couple of sites in my favorites, here they are…
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20000115/427.html
http://www.senseofsmell.org/feature/whitepaper/whitepaper_print.html
http://www.smellandtaste.org/index.cfm?action=home
I have done most of the usual stuff we’ve all done. MRI scans, CAT scans, blood work, nasal washes, steam, steroid nasal sprays, OTC sinus medicine, drink lots of water -96 ounces- over the course of the day (the ENT said that my nasal passages were dry, really I can’t imagine why with the nasal washes, steroids, and OTC meds it was probably like a desert in there), now my doctor wants me to try Afrin (three days on, three days off, it is addictive so be careful if you try this). He thinks it might shrink my nasal passages. I asked my doctor today if there was any kind of nasal swab test in my sinuses he could do to look for Viral, Bacterial, or Fungal Infections. He’s going to get back to me on that. I saw an ENT, he was ok just not very helpful (I felt like a number to him), but my regular doctor is the one who is doing everything that he can to help me. He said that by treating me he’s going to become an expert on this subject. He’s also going to recommend another ENT, he’s going to poll his doctor friends to see who they all recommend. I called him on the phone a week ago and asked him about ALA, he said it was fine to take three doses of 200mg over the course of the day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I also started taking a complete multivitamin, vitamin E, vitamin c, calcium, and omega 3 fish oil. My doctor said that they can’t hurt, so go ahead. Just make sure to check with you doctor before doing anything here, I don’t know your medical history, and wouldn’t want to make you sick or anything.
I lost weight in the beginning, quite a bit as a matter a fact (who wanted to eat when you can’t smell or taste any of it), then when my sense of taste (salty, sweet, sour, and bitter) started to come back, the hunt was on! I gained back everything I lost and then some. I always liked sour things and sour candy filled the bill perfectly, not that it tasted quite like it should have, but it was something I could taste. I know not very good for me, but I have gotten much better and have started to take some of the extra weight off. My doctor was extremely happy with this.
I want to strongly urge you to have a working smoke detector where you live. I cannot smell smoke of any kind. We now have four, two that were hard wired in to our house when we got it and two battery operated ones. I got a really sensitive one for the kitchen, so I don’t burn the house down. I’ve burned a few dishes, I couldn’t smell that they were burning, oops these things will happen. I was a cook by trade and I could smell when the food was done. Now, I have learned to hover over my stove, grill, or oven to be sure I don’t over cook or burn anything. I get everything ready to go before I ever begin to cook. There is a learning curve I’m going to apply here, when your use to doing things one way (start to cook and walk away to the counter to finish preparing something else, we’ve all done this at times), only to have it ripped from underneath you (I can’t smell anything that I am cooking) it takes a few burnt dinners to realize you can’t do it that way anymore and you change your ways fast.
Now, all I have to do is find a gas detector for my gas run appliances and I’ll be set…
If I can think of anything else I will post it .
October 18, 2008 at 7:41 am
peanut69
Carolyn,
August 2008 the post “Vitamins” click on comments, go to Adri and Anonymous they have a lot about Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA). Take your vitamins (a complete multi vitamin, E, C, and Omega 3 Fish Oil). I have started to take ALA (600mg a day, 200mg 3 times a day). Eat healthy and take care of yourself. Make sure to talk to you doctor to make sure that anything you do is right for you medically. It hopefully will get better for you, I’m better than I was in the beginning and I hope to still get better yet. Have a working smoke detector in your home. Google…“Anosmia & Alpha Lipoic Acid” maybe you will find something there that will be helpful to you. All my best to you. If I can think of anything else I’ll let you know.
November 17, 2008 at 11:55 pm
peanut69
Update…
I lost my sense of smell also (about 2 yrs ago) and right know I have been dealing with what I think is a very light chemical/blood taste and smell. It’s quite a combo and with me almost 24-7. I really didn’t have to deal with this until recently. I started taking Alpha Lipoic Acid (600mg a day, split into 3 doses) 6 weeks ago and about 2 weeks ago when I started smelling this combo, however with the bad came a great deal of good. I also have started to taste the flavors in some of my food and can sometimes even smell what I cooking if it’s a really strong smell. A huge leap from where I was 2 months ago with no smells and no flavors what so ever. Before that I had phantom smells like vanilla cake and chocolate chip cookies baking, these would go on for days. All in all not bad smells, but after telling my family for days “I smell cake and cookies” I would wind up baking, because I made everyone else hungry for them LOL. I swear, it’s the Alpha Lipioc Acid working that is giving me my sense of smell back slowly. I can even very lighlty smell my candles burning now. I thank God every morning when I wake up and can still smell stuff that day.
December 18, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Lindi
I hit the back of my head 2 and bit months ago, i have absolutely no smell even if I stick my nose really close to something. I have virtually no taste, I can distinguish sweet things but they all taste roughly the same. I had an MRI scan at the beginning which showed no fractures and no bleeding, but I was told the brain was swollen and therefore I needed to give it time! At that point the doctor said he couldnt say whether my smell would or wouldnt ever return again , just a question of time, wait and see. Friends have told me to go back to ask for another scan now that the swelling has gone down perhaps more could be seen . But having read the comments on this site is it worth it ,can doctors do anything? I am taking alpha lipoic acid and some zinc. This is just so depressing!
December 23, 2008 at 1:54 am
Pepe
I am happy I ran into this site. It has been a month since I lost my sense of smell, just like that. I did not realize I had lost it since I was smelling “worng”, some smells like cooked food, smoke and lotion smell horribloy bad (The worst is fried food ). But when I saw the doctor he realized I cant smell anything else.
This came after a bad sinus infection and no doctor seems to know If I´ll ever recover my sense or not.
Taste has been altered too.
I am a doctor, a gi specialist and have seen everyoine for this, but nothing seems to work.
I am desperate, yet hopeful that my smell will come back or at least the foul smells will go away.
Thanks for sharing!
December 23, 2008 at 2:08 am
peanut69
Update…
I think that the ALA is working for me. I’ve been taking it since 10/07/08. I have been able to smell some things, in their “real” smell, if I am up close to them and some things I can now smell, not their “real” smell, but how I smell them now. This is all a bonus for me, since a few months ago I could smell nothing at all. My sense of taste seems to be getting a little bit better also. My Doctor and I found out that the “Blood/Chemical” smell was the nasal spray he had me taking. It dried out my sinuses so well that they were bleeding (just a little bit, not enough to be noticed on a tissue). Lovely huh?! I’m no longer doing that and the smell went away. I hope all of you get some results.
January 15, 2009 at 4:29 pm
mico
hi again all. I’m coming up on a year since I lost my sense of smell following a series of sinus infections. Had sinus surgery last May to clean out the sinus. Anyway, I can’t report any change at all. Still no sense of smell and hardly any sense of taste. I’ve cut way back on eating meat because it just isn’t pleasant to eat. I started taking Alpha Lipoic Acid and zinc before Christmas but I had to lay off for awhile….I was taking so many supplements that my stomach was getting upset. I will probably start those two again though.
Here’s a question: I don’t know how to explain it exactly but when I chew my food it seems like it doesn’t chew the same way…bits of the food stay in my mouth longer….often it’s like bits of fiber or something like that. Meat is the worst, but even an apple has the same effect. I am producing saliva as usual, I think, but I always have to have water on hand when I eat because sometimes swallowing is difficult. My dentist didn’t have any ideas on the subject. I wonder if this is related somehow to the loss of smell and taste. Any comments?
January 15, 2009 at 4:49 pm
mico
here’s a couple of links you all may want to look at. I can’t vouch for anything they say there.
http://www.sinuses.com/postsurg.htm
http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/ViralMick.htm
http://www.sinuscuresthatwork.com/SinusCuresThatWork-v1-44.pdf
January 26, 2009 at 5:37 pm
fjb
mico,
Just a thought. Maybe it’s just your new heightened awareness of everything food. You’ve become aware of “mouth feel” as they call it. Some people are very sensitive to that, thing such as liver and spinach turn people off due to mouth feel. Crispy. Smooth. Cold. I’ve never been one of them. I ate everything no matter how it came to me. Cats are very sensitive to mouth feel. Cat food developers work with this. I’m guessing that it is your new awareness and bad tastes that may be the problem.
February 9, 2009 at 8:29 pm
fjb
Antibiotics. Finally, I got sick enough to get antibiotics. Most of my attempts up until now have not yielded enough or a high enough dosage. I’ve had the mother of all colds, sinus infection (now I know what one is), lungs involved, ugh! I feel awful. It wasn’t enough to have a peculiar sense of taste, open wounds in my nose, overwhelming fatigue, and shoulder pain. I had to add to that cough, rainbow colored mucous, inability to breath, ….
All this to say, the sore are going away, and I’m starting to taste more normally now. Now I hope that the rest of the symptoms go away. It has been almost five weeks of this.
February 27, 2009 at 9:49 am
lindi
has anybody out there recovered there smell after a head injury. If so when did it happen? Ive been told that if it was going to happen there would be some signs at about three months!
March 6, 2009 at 5:53 am
Julie
Finally I have found a website with real people who share my problem.Like many of you I had the hideous flu, high fevers and accompanying nerve rash. Since then no smell or taste except for an unpleasant chemical smell when family use aftershave or deodorant.Also like many of you have lost a lot of weight as i have no enjoyment in eating at all.It is now 7 months and I am feeling qiute depressed wondering if I will ever enjoy food and smells again, Have only tried alternate health so far and zinc hasnt really made much difference.Thank you to all of you on this site for your comments i dont feel so desperate and alone
Julie
March 6, 2009 at 11:38 am
fjb
TASTE & SMELL IS RETURNING!
I finally was sick enough for the allergist to believe that I actually had an infection in my nose. Well, he was not going to admit after at least 18 months of this that he had ignored my cries for help with an infection. He won’t discuss the taste/smell thing with me. BUT! He gave me antibiotics.
I was on Augmentin for four weeks, and Levaquin for three. The sores in my nose have healed. I am starting to feel better. I am not tired all of the time. The “allergy symptoms” are subsiding. AND, I’m beginning to sense flavors and smells normally. I can smell things correctly over the peculiar flavors. I tasted almond paste, vinegar, onions, and I can begin to sense them correctly.
I still urge people to work very hard to find some way to get enough antibiotics to treat a NOSE infection, for the sense of taste and smell originate in the nose. It wasn’t easy to get enough antibiotics. It took close or over two years, and during that time I lost my sense of taste/smell. I went to four different health care providers. Had a CT scan of my sinuses. AND no one would believe me, despite the unpleasant details of what was happening in my nose.
Don’t get me going on how this sort of treatment, or lack of it, isn’t unique to us with compromised sniffers.
March 17, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Kate
I had a staph infection in late summer/early fall of 2008. After several weeks of doxycycline, I started getting this citrusy-bitter smell inside my nose (like the rind of a lemon). I thought it was something at my desk, in my car…..I searched forever for the origin of that smell and realized it was inside my nose. Soon after, I was spraying perfume on my wrist and, when I sniffed it, it might as well have been water. Nothing. I have taken an onion, cut it in half, put it up to my nose, breathed in deeply……nothing. I have no sense of smell or flavor whatsoever. Zero.
Since my bout with staph (which is gone now), I got the flu in Jan ‘09 and had a lingering stuffy nose following (again, loss of smell/taste preceded that). Went to ENT a week ago for the chronic stuffy nose/sinuses and told him my loss of smell concerned me more than the sinus infection. He just kind of shrugged and said “Well, a small percentage of people never regain sense of smell”. I had to choke back tears. The frustration is starting to get to me.
I’m reading about people who’ve been living with this for 3 years…..6 years or longer, and i’m only about to reach the 6-7 month mark. It’s not just about not being able to smell food or danger……there’s just so much in love and life that is richer when able to experience it with all senses. Have taken it for granted most of my life…
Good luck to you all. Thank you for the free therapy!
April 11, 2009 at 9:43 am
shx
Have a mild HYPOSMIA either after a bad cold.Slowly gaining smell after taking antibiotics.
May 27, 2009 at 5:56 am
Melissa
Hi,
I suffer from hyposmia since november 2008, i have a bad cold during my 6 month pregnancy, I have little sense of smell and very little sense of taste, some ENT Specialist tell me that i will may be regain my sense ive tried celesten ive got my sense back but for two weeks only. Have anybody recover their sense of smell and taste. I WANT TO SMELL MY LITTLE GIRL.
Please tell me what can i do to reagin my sense pleassssssssssssssssssssss.
Thank you,
Melissa
June 13, 2009 at 9:50 am
Anonymous
hi again all. not much progress here but i can report that i have regained my sense of smell for a day or two at a time several times over the last few months. i was treated for a month with oral prednisone (a steroid) and that helped while i was on it. unfortunately, you can’t stay on it for long periods.
i saw an immunologist who said i might have aspirin sensitivity causing chronic sinus inflammation. this includes naproxin and ibuprophen as well as other products that contain aspirin or its relatives. i don’t think there is a test for it so i have eliminated all of it. you may want to investigate this online.
i read an article yesterday about a woman with sinus issues her whole life who finally figured out she had gluten intolerance (wheat products and some other grains). she eliminated this stuff from her diet (there are a lot of substitutes) and has no more problem. this might be a possibility for some of you, especially if you’ve had problems all your life with no known cause.
My next step is probably acupuncture. i’ll let you know how that goes.
June 13, 2009 at 9:52 am
mico
ugh, that previous post is from me, mico. i forgot how this posting thing works.
July 9, 2009 at 12:44 pm
mico
I had four accupunture treatments and took a bottle of chinese herbs. didn’t work at all.
August 8, 2009 at 4:41 pm
alicia
Since I can remember I have not been able to smell. I have been to every kind of doctor and been on every kind of medicine that they think could help. I have had no improvment. I even had my tonsils and adnoids out because they said that might help. It didnt. Every doctor I have gone to can not give me even a reason for my lack of smell. Its not even a lack of smell its no smell. I cant smell anything not even the strongest smells!
I have been reading most of the posting and most of the lack of smell is from an infection or head trauma. The only thing the doctors could tell me was maybe I had an infection when I was really young. Maybe that could be true.
Also since I have always been like this my taste is different then those who used to be able to taste. I was reading and surprised to learn the taste thing is very different for people. Of course I knew my taste is effected but for me thats all i know. I cant compare it to anything so that sjust what it is. I thought I could taste pretty good but now im thinking I really cant. I have no reference and no one can answer this for me but Can I taste? this is weird for me. I eat a lot of sour things and I love it. I like spicy and flavor full foods…..Its weird to think that maybe i cant really taste them. I know they are duller to me then others but how differerent….
November 14, 2009 at 5:00 am
Renee
Alicia,
I understand completely! I can taste as well, but I cannot smell. I cannot smell anything.
August 28, 2009 at 6:27 am
Bob
It’s been a year of looking and I finally found this site!
I had a car accident in May 2008 where the other driver ran a stop sign and ran me into a brick staircase. A broken nose and a smashed up face from the airbag was the result. Since, I have lost the ability to smell many things, most notably….skunks, candles and some household cleaners. I noticed that most of the food I was eating was bland all of a sudden and had a hard time smelling it. An ENT referred me to a clinic in Philedelphia for some testing, but I don’t know if I want to go through with that since it is 5 hours away. The other driver’s insurance company wants to settle, but how do I put a value on hyposmia and a crooked nose???? Does anyone out there have any experience with this from an accident as far as settlement amount?
Thanks everyone for all the great information and any help you can be!!!!
September 3, 2009 at 3:25 pm
dee
Bob, I was hit by a car 7/19/2001 while riding my bike. I suffered a concussion and the next day I realized that I could not smell anything. I went to the University of Connecticut Taste and Smell center. They conducted a bunch of tests to figure out what I could/could not detect. Well, I really couldn’t smell anything.
Eight years later and there are a only few things I can smell (faintly); raspberries, lavender, yogurt, coffee, fresh tomatoes and a few others. My wife jokes that one of the few things I can smell is farts!
I went to court for my accident. The criminal trial was a joke. It went on for 3 years and the scumbag that did the hit and run walked away with 10 hours of community service. I hired a lawyer for the civil suit. I wound up getting about $25k, which is a total joke. My life has changed dramatically and I continue to suffer every day. Thomas Condon of Massachusetts walks away from a hit and run to move to NYC to get rich as a stock broker. I seriously hope that guy gets hit by a bus and gets paralyzed.
A few things have helped me; Grossan Nasal Irrigator, eating a vegan diet (dairy and meat are terrible for sinuses), yoga, exercise. I also went to a Chinese herbalist who has cured two sinus infections for me within two days (BJ Wang in Allston, MA). For the depression I work out as much as possible and try to avoid situations where there will be a lot of comments on how good things taste. It took me three years to go to a restaurant after my accident.
I got the same attitude from my ENT (Dr. Saloman, Mass Eye and Ear) as well–”it could be worse.” That’s about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I highly recommend never going to him.
I wish I had more to offer. Like other commenters on this blog, there doesn’t seem to be a lot out there as far as help or support.
September 3, 2009 at 3:41 pm
dee
Oh, and the latest thing I did was cut alcohol out of my diet. Doesn’t sound fun, I know. But alcohol (temporarily)shrinks shrinks sinus membranes, thus less oxygen to the sinuses/olfactory. It’s only been a month, so I’ll repost if I see any real changes.
October 21, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Amy
Hi. I am so happy to have found you!! Lost my sense of smell last May (09) because of a vicious virus. I too smell things once in awhile, but never for long, and never everything (even nearly). When I am in my car alone and pass gas I try to smell it. I pick up onions and sniff them, I stick my head in the coffee grinder. SOmetimes I think I smell things, but it isn’t a defined enough smell for me to know if I made it up or not.
I used to have such a good smeller! I could smell the ozone after the lightning hit. I could smell all of the smells in a restaurant. I am an accomplished cook, well, I was. .
You all have my sympathy and support.
<3 Amy
November 14, 2009 at 4:46 am
Renee McBryde
Oh my goodness! I cannot believe I have finally found some people with the same symptoms I have. I thought I was the only one! What a blessing. Maybe someone can help me. I cannot remember when my smell left me. I have always had sinus issues. I have tried allergy shots, OTC decongestants, prescription nose sprays, antihistamines, etc. you know the treatments I’m sure. I even had my tonsils out a year ago and still no smell. I use my neti pot daily and have even tried the zinc lozenges (they make me sick without eating first). I do have eustachian tube disfunction from time to tome and constant post nasal drip. I am going to try the Alpha Lipoic Acid. I am so excited about this. I will be praying for each of you. If you have any advice, please let me know. I know God has a reason for everything.
November 25, 2009 at 2:13 pm
lindi
Has anyone recovered their smell following a head trauma, after having been wthout it (smell that is) for over a year?
November 26, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Renee
Lindi,
I have not had a head injury, however; I have lost my smell. I am hoping that I get it back. I have had allergies and post nasal drip (all the time) for awhile. I have taken allergy shots and they have helped, but I still cannot smell. I have also had my tonsils out and still no smell. I do not remember when I lost my smell exactly, it was gradual. I really miss it a lot. As you can see, I am trying everything. I am now going to try Dr. Grossan’s nasal sinus irrigator. I am hoping it’s going to be delivered tomorrow. I am also trying the Alpha Lipoic Acid. Look it up on the internet. There has been a lot of research and good news for people like us who cannot smell. They say it is the answer. I sure hope so. The only problem is that you have to take 200 mg. three times a day and this is hard for me (I am not really good at taking medicine like I should). Also, I have heard that your Olfactory system has stem cells and they can be regenerated. I am also trying to smell familiar foods (lemon), cologne’s, etc for about two minutes a day. This is suppose to help, also with the Olfactory system. Anything is worth a try. I know there are posts on WordPress from people like you that have had good results over time especially with the Alpha Lipoic Acid. I would ask my doctor first, before you try anything to be safe. Do your own research about the Alpha Lipoic Acid, the Olfactory system, and Dr. Grossan’s nasal sinus irrigator. I’ll pray for good results for you. Let me know how you’re doing and I’ll do the same. God bless you and may your smell return quickly.
Renee’