I lost my sense of smell four years ago. The doctors told me that it is natural and that it is not a sickness

case 0011

About 6 years ago I noticed that many smells were becoming more intense. Unfortunately this only occurred with unpleasant smells. Nearly all of my wife's beauty products became nearly unbearable and my wife's breath took on a deeply sour note (that only I can smell.) Many foods are now too intense to be around. I have become depressed since I can rarely escape bad smells in many places and have researched methods to desensitize my olfaction. I have gone so far as to attempt to self-induce anosmia. My relationship with my wife has degenerated since I cringe when she comes within smelling distance. My wife is not the only source of these unpleasant smells (I even went to therapy about it, in case it was hypochondria).

case 0012

I lost all sense of smell about four years ago. No head trauma, no illness, no allergy to anything or any drug, no specific exposure event that I can recall. I don't know if it was sudden or not. I didn't notice myself, people would tell me they smell things and I just wouldn't. I manage an apartment building and tenants would sometimes come to me saying things like "it smells bad in the laundry room, like a dead animal" but I would smell nothing. I would search the corners and find nothing, and tighten the gas connections, and they would say it was fine now. At some point I realized I could not smell coffee grounds or coffee brewing, nor toast starting to burn when it would set off the smoke detector. After I realized I could not smell I tried everything, newly opened spice jars, pickles, rubbing alcohol, every sort of strong food odor, etc. I can no longer smell soup simmering or hamburgers frying, but I can still taste all I need to. All fruits taste different, as do all cold-cuts. I can taste various condiments and distinguish brands of salami and types of cheese. So lack of smell does not really make me despair about diet. But then, I never was a foodie. Never could get interested in cooking or fussing about savoring foods in restaurants. My doctor did not know such a symptom existed. He was stunned that this could happen and stuck a couple things like coffee under my nose to test me. He didn't even look up my nose with a light, much less a scope. I felt sure he'd never looked up anyone's nose, wouldn't know what to look for. When he found out it had a name, anosmia, he looked up possible causes in their computer and decided to send me to get an MRI and a CT scan. He refused to send me to an ear nose throat specialist because "I cannot send you unless I first diagnose a condition they can treat, like sinusitis". I recently realized there are two things I can smell, but now learned they are probably not being smelled by my main smell organ. Still, it was news. I could smell "locker room mildew" in a pile of rags that sat on the patio for a week. But when I tried to repeat the smell I couldn't. Perhaps I broke up the scent when first disturbing the pile. Then yesterday I smelled a diesel truck that had just come to a stop. But again, when I tried to repeat it the smell was gone.

case 0013

I had a good sense of smell and had been able to identify many wines by taste/smell. Then I found that my sense of smell was disappearing. During this period I found that when I was exercising — mostly running — I could regain my sense of smell. During a dinner party when a good wine was served I would excuse myself from the room and run up and down the stairs several times. This restored my sense of smell for a period. But eventually I stopped smelling entirely. I visited the doctor to enquire and was referred to an ear nose throat specialist. Two surgeries and several nasal sprays did not help. However, a couple of months later I went scuba diving and after a very slight nose bleed my sense of smell reappeared dramatically and I could smell strongly and it stayed there for almost a month. It was a very enjoyable period and meals were like eating in "technicolor". After returning home I revisited the doctor and told him of my experience. After almost a year I was referred, last summer to an ear nose throat specialist again. The specialist said that he could observe polyps again and prescribed an inhaler but my sense of smell still did not return so I was given a short course of strong steroid tablets and my sense of smell again returned. The specialist said that it was not advisable to continue on such steroids for a prolonged period. Shortly after stopping the steroids the sense of smell again disappeared.

case 0014

When I was four I fell and had a head injury. This probably caused my anosmia but it wasn't until years later, at thirteen, that my family realized I couldn't smell. I was told I could have a pet cat as long as I took care of it and one of those responsibilities was to change the cat box as soon as I smelled it. Needless to say I was in constant trouble and was thought to be irresponsible and lazy. Eventually I was able to convince others that I just couldn't smell. Whenever I tried to inquire about it doctors would tell me to forget about it since I had learned to live without it all these years. I had health insurance, but they would tell me that I should be glad I couldn't smell most things. Life is not easy without it though. I wear perfume to please the people who buy it for me, but I am never sure how much to use unless I ask someone to "smell me to see if I'm okay". Furthermore, I am constantly worried about offending people around me by body odor, especially people I have just met or am trying to make a favorable impression. If you're blind, people forgive you if you are wearing mismatched socks, but they can't see if you have anosmia and therefore a reason why you may have undetected body odor. I am now retired. I don't socialize too often although I have always had an outgoing personality and love to be with people.