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 0606

Four months ago I had an upper respiratory infection. The symptoms were severe and it lasted about two weeks. After the illness I had no sense of smell. I thought that perhaps it was something very temporary but finally went to see a doctor two months ago. He said there was no treatment that he could offer and suggested that I wait for a few months. My sense of smell has returned but it is not right. From the beginning I could smell cinnamon and cigarette smoke — the doctor told me that those nerve pathways had not been damaged. I have some very peculiar things that happen — for example, coffee, meat, tuna, salmon and excrement all smell the same — not necessarily bad but the same. It is a scent that I cannot identify. I can no longer wear perfume because the scents are unpleasant — one popular perfume smells something like liverwurst (and I haven't smelled that in probably 30 years). Hairspray smells like sulfur, many scented products smell the same — almost like rotten eggs. So far I haven't lost any weight, but I am pretty habitual in what I eat. I can taste sweet, sour, bitter and salty but none of the nuances. I had dinner with friends several weeks ago at a restaurant I like but the food was terrible and I couldn't finish it. All I could taste was the sensation of heat from pepper. I cannot smell burnt popcorn or burnt food, but I can smell wood smoke if I am very close to it. Sometimes I am not certain if I am really smelling something or if it is just a memory. For example, if I walk past a restaurant I can't smell anything but if I glance at a grill I may get a flash scent of grilled chicken — whether or not chicken is on the grill. At first I felt very out of touch with myself — like I was out of step or like I had constantly forgotten something important. I am more relaxed now and find the process and differences in my sense of smell very interesting. I have read that some people can get depressed but I don't feel a great sense of loss — if one has to lose a sense my choice would be smell. Still I am hopeful that I will regain my sense of smell and am encouraged that many people eventually do regain it.

case 0607

I suffered a depressed skull to the back of my head at age 17. I noticed that I couldn't smell about a year later when others were complaining about foul odors that I could not detect.

case 0608

I suffer from congenital anosmia — I've been unable to smell since I was born. I didn't really realize it earlier on, though. It only hit me when one day in school, it was lunchtime, yet none of my classmates were going out to the hallway to fetch their lunchboxes. Of course, I only became aware of this when I came back into the classroom with my food, and realized that everyone was staring at me. Apparently, there had been construction going on these past few days, and it must've caused a leak in the bathroom pipelines down the hallway or something, resulting in a horrible stench that filled the entire corridor. I had no idea of what I was doing until everyone explained it to me.

case 0609

For the last weeks I have been sensing an unusual acrid odor. It varies in intensity and it is persistent. It just won't go away.

case 0610

A bit over three years ago I started smelling car exhaust frequently. It became overwhelming at times. I would get nauseous. I was so distracted by the smell I could barely pay attention to my job. I checked all my smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors multiple times. I reported the smells to the maintenance department at work. They checked all vents, air conditioning units etc. and nothing was found. Finally a friend went with me for hours and every time I smelled car exhaust, she smelled nothing. This lasted for ten months. Then the odor changed to a very strong sweet burnt yeasty smell that was also nauseating and lasted for seven months. The odor was not constant but extremely frequent; it may have been once every five minutes or so but not in a pattern. I felt it was more a misperception of smell than fantasy smell. For example when my children smelled cow manure I smelled a very strong smell of sweet burnt yeast. But many other odors would cause me to smell yeast also. Some odors I could smell behind the yeasty smell. After I got a cold I took zinc lozenges and the smell of yeast intensified enough that I wanted to pass out. I read an article about zinc causing smell disorders so I stopped taking zinc. Then it seemed to improve. It was going well until two months ago. Suddenly I began smelling intermittent sweet burning yeast again. It is not as frequent as previously maybe only 20-30 times a day with each lasting 10-30 sec. Again I think it is misperception of smell since if I cover my nose, the smell is lessened.

case 0611

I have congenital anosmia. As a young child, of course I did not realize that anything was different about me until a few years into grade school. Classmates would make comments about pungent odors and I would play along, acting like I knew what they were talking about. It wasn't until later that my parents realized that I really could not smell anything at all. I've never been officially diagnosed. To this day, I have never been able to smell a thing. It doesn't bother me as much as you think it should.

case 0612

I started smelling cigarette smoke about a week ago. It has become progressively stronger and is now constant. I am a non-smoker and live in a non-smoking home and work place.

case 0613

I lost my sense of smell when I was 47 years old. Doctors could not treat me and they said I will not get the smelling sense back. However, whenever I am sick and doctors prescribe antibiotics I get my sense of smell back. It only lasts for a few days. After getting five injections of vitamin B12 the sense of smell also came back. It also came back after I took a medicine against a dry cough.