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 0524

Within a year after moving house I noticed a sharp decline in my ability to smell. I had not been sick or suffered any head injury. The entire process seemed to take only a few weeks. I went from having an acute sense of smell to nothing. Physical reasons like a brain tumor or polyps have been ruled out by my doctor. The best they can come up with is possibly old age.

case 0525

I accidentally lost my sense of smell when I used bleach to clean. It took a year for things to become normal and for food to taste normal, but it was nothing compared to the bad smell I'm experiencing currently. For the last month the smell of moldy, rotten citrus fruit has been getting stronger and stronger. I thought it was something I smelled over a year ago that was very faint, from a new computer graphics card. Now, I am not so sure the computer graphics card ever really had a smell, but at the time it seemed so. Just before this happened, I had two sinus infections almost back to back, with a cold sore that invaded my nose instead of on my lip, and the stomach flu. It's getting hard to concentrate on things and to try not to think of the smell. I could close my nose on one side and have relief but only temporarily. Even when I go somewhere without the smell, my mouth tastes like I have had metal coins in it all day. Some foods still taste the same but the group that does is dwindling. I know I have to eat, but I do not know if I will be able to stomach it. This is often overpowering and makes me nauseous. I can see why people say that they are going crazy by it. I cannot imagine how some people have made it for years with this condition.

case 0526

I was eleven years old before I realized that I did not have a sense of smell. Throughout the years I have been able to smell mint or strong chemicals but none of the beautiful scents of flowers or perfumes or food and drink. My sense of taste has not been affected, although I find I have to salt my food to enhance the flavor.

case 0527

I have had sinus infections since I was a teenager and had surgery to clear out sinus cavities and fix my deviated septum. A week after the surgery I could not smell or taste anything. The doctor said he had no explanation for this because it was done using the balloon method and should not have disturbed the sense of smell. Well, I have not been able to smell since and can't figure out why.

case 0528

Over a year ago I was in an accident in which I suffered severe head and brain trauma. As a result, I've been told, my olfactory nerve sheared, leaving me with no sense of smell. I've been told I have a 50/50 chance at getting my smell back permanently. I still have my sense of taste. Also, sometimes for a couple of days I have the feeling of a certain smell which may have once existed or not. It doesn't seem real and won't go away to the point that it becomes annoying.

case 0529

I contracted a severe infection the effects of which lasted for over a month. It was one of the worst bouts of cold and/or influenza I ever had. Since then, my sense of smell has all but deserted me. Even the most pungent smelling products such as perfume, after shave lotions, petrol, or whisky do not register at all. Strangely enough though, there is one substance that I can smell very slightly, but I have to breathe it in vigorously to experience any effect. It's Heinz Original Sandwich Spread, "The tangy crunchy spread".

case 0530

I started to notice the diminishment of my sense of smell about 25 years ago. 13 years ago my sense of smell was gone. I have no sense of food flavor or the smell of flowers. I had a small fire in my home and slept through it. I have gas heat and I'm scared to death when I have reason to suspect a problem. My gas company is very understanding but no one actually understands what the loss of the sense means, in a day by day way. I eat what I used to like and I cook with the same ingredients, spices and other taste factors. Why? I have no idea, every meal is a disappointment.

case 0531

I have never been able to smell anything. Growing up, I used to forget to put on deodorant. However, once I got word that I smelled from other people, I became very conscientious about using deodorant (even though I get no benefit from it myself). I have been in two house fires, in neither of which I could even smell the smoke! Last year, I was cleaning a bathroom with a strong solvent. I started coughing but continued cleaning anyway. I ended up coughing up blood, because I didn't realize how strong the scent was. I was adopted at birth. When I first met my birth mother, she told me that her mother and sister were also anosmic. I felt connected!!!

case 0532

Around the age of eight or nine I started to notice my sense of smell was diminishing. I felt embarrassed about not being able to smell anything. I would have never admitted this to my school friends or family. If someone reacted to a smell, I'd copy their reaction to hide the fact I couldn't smell it myself. In later years I told my parents. I did sustain a hairline fracture to my cheekbone around this same age and often wonder if this incident has anything to do with my loss of sense. Generally I don't notice not being able to smell. However, I do get paranoid about personal hygiene, how my house smells — i.e. something gone rotten in the fridge, musty smells — this has resulted in me being absolutely fanatical about both personal hygiene and household cleaning — to the point where people close to me have asked if I suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also, I passed out once when I was on my own and was inhaling fumes and didn't know about because I couldn't smell them.

case 0533

Ten years ago I had gastric bypass surgery. Sometime after that I noticed I had lost my sense of smell. To this day I still have no sense of smell, although I can go for a period of several days where my mind seems to believe I smell something, e.g. oranges, but it is only the one smell and there is nothing around that smells like it. Along with the lack of smell, I have a lack of taste. I can only taste foods that are very flavorful/seasoned. I cannot taste bland foods at all.