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 0580

My mother had measles while she was pregnant with me. As I was growing up I noticed weird things like not being able to smell things that others could. And I'm completely deaf in my right ear and hard of hearing in my left ear. It gets so old when people ask me to smell something and I have to try to explain that I can't and they think I'm a freak. Not being able to smell has disadvantages. I can't smell smoke if the house is on fire, can't smell foods, chemicals, my wife's perfume or hair, rain, fresh cut grass, or engine trouble. On the other side I don't have to smell farts and I can be around things or do things that would make others sick or vomit.

case 0581

Several months ago I realized that I had completely lost my sense of smell. I have absolutely no idea why. The only possible explanation could be the blow to my head as a result of a fall last summer.

case 0582

I have chronic nasal infections which are under control now with a surgery and medication. My sense of smell is gone for some years now. However, once in a while when taking antibiotics plus prednisone the smell came back. My ear nose throat doctor refuses to prescribe, understandably, prednisone just to get back the sense of smell for a while. But the loss of smell is annoying. I wished there was a cure. It's not life threatening, but imagine the house on fire... The smell of smoke will not alarm me.

case 0583

I do not have the sense of smell. It probably is hereditary because my mom lacks the sense of smell as well.

case 0584

I have suffered from bouts of sinusitis since I was a teenager. Whenever I had a cold it would be several weeks before my sinuses cleared and I have used different nasal sprays, probably to excess. My sense of smell always used to return when the sinusitis settled down but for the past two years I find that I can no longer smell anything other than the strongest odors.

case 0585

Several weeks after a head cold had gone I noticed I hadn't regained my sense of smell. It has now been almost a year and my sense of smell has not returned at all. I often wake during the night unable to breathe through my nose. It is very unpleasant and seems to be getting slowly worse.

case 0586

Three years ago I gradually lost my sense of smell after an allergy attack. Most of the time my nose is dry. Sometimes, when the weather is cold, or snowy, or after hard exercise, I can smell.

case 0587

At one point I developed many nasal issues. I then started suffering from asthma and I had steroid pumps given to me. I then discovered that I had nasal polyps. After surgery to remove them, my sense of smell completely disappeared. I think the surgery damaged my nose in some way. I so miss my sense of smell and it has affected my taste also; things just do not taste as sharp! My mother makes this beautiful lemon cake and I used to be able to taste the zest but that no longer happens. I also miss the smell of fresh cut lawn, coffee, bacon, and fresh bread. I did have a spray once from one doctor and it did improve my sense of smell but he told me I could not use it for prolonged periods.

case 0588

About two months ago I noticed a peculiar change in my sense of smell. I had always had a good sense of smell — not hyperactive but certainly adequate to enjoy the pleasant odors and sensitive enough to protect me from the bad odors like leaking gas. I always enjoyed the aroma of cooking food, fresh flowers, good perfume and could distinguish the difference between them. I was occasionally a little sensitive — like walking down the aisle of boxed laundry detergents in the grocery store, or restaurants filled with smokers — but nothing extraordinary. The change I noticed was that there was an unusual and pervasive smell to just about everything which was similar to old deep fryer oil. The smell could even be nauseating at time. It made fried foods seem repulsive and I cannot eat it anymore. But even without food around there is still this pervasive odor. I wake up to it — and go to sleep with it — and I hate it. It is destroying my joy of life and I really just want it gone. I have tried different approaches to dealing with this condition. [1] Thinking it might be sinus related (I have dealt with many sinus infections), I cleaned my sinuses out daily using a neti pot then applying an olive leaf spray (antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal). Weeks of this did not seem to help much. [2] I avoided all chemicals as much as possible (sprays, liquids, etc.) but with little effect. [3] I then started washing my nose out with a botanical soap and water using cotton swabs multiple times a day. This had the best results — but it was always temporary and the smell always returned. [4] I have taken to stuffing my nose with sterile cotton to block all odors. This has been the most effective in blocking the odor — but not very pleasant. It is like having a constant cold. It is my theory that the strong odor of moth balls that I was exposed to for six weeks has caused this condition. Now many formerly pleasant odors (cookies in the oven) smell like "old frying oil". Fried foods smell even worse and often I experience the "old frying oil" smell in the absence of a stimulus.

case 0589

I was born with anosmia, but I actually first really noticed that I don't have a sense of smell, when I was about 13 years old. Of course I knew that I didn't feel what the others felt when they smelled at something but I didn't realize I just didn't have a sense of smell... When I tell people about it they always think I'm special because of my condition but they also keep forgetting about it and asking me how I like a perfume or so. It's a little uncomfortable not to know how I smell. But I have friends who tell me if my feet stink and stuff. I'm also really curious about how it feels to smell at something. I've tried asking friends but they always just tell me: "Well, I don't know... a tomato smells like a tomato..." That's annoying.