Imagine living in a world devoid of flavor.
Dr. Karl L. Wuensch spent years eating rotten foods, burning his cookware and forgoing the full appreciation of taste before finally seeking medical advice to treat his anosmia - the loss of one’s capacity to smell.
Those born with anosmia often insist that they have the same ability to taste as normal individuals. While we have a natural inclination to refer to the mouth as the sole source of taste and flavor, our understanding of odor is inexorably linked to our experience with food.
Dr. Bob Graham, a professor of neuropsychology at East Carolina University and an expert in psychophysics believes we need to upgrade our vocabulary.
�Start with the ground rule that “taste” will only be used for the five qualities obtainable from the taste receptors of the mouth and throat: salt, sweet, bitter, sour, umami. All other experiences that one gets from food in the mouth should be referred to as “flavor”. Flavor is regarded as the result of gustatory-olfactory interaction. Anosmics can taste quite well - nothing missing there. But they cannot experience flavor.�
Unlike our limited gustatory repertoire, the number of unique odors humans can discern is effectively limitless. Upon ingesting a substance, small volatile odorants are carried with each breath to dime size patches on either side of the nasal septum. These patches contain the olfactory receptor cells.
In the absence of these cells, there is only taste, texture and temperature.
To simulate the effect smell has on flavor, try sampling cola, root beer and orange soda with your eyes closed and nostrils shut. You�ll have a hard time telling which beverage is which; their tastes are essentially identical � sweet with a touch of sour or bitter. Only in their volatile flavor compounds do they differ.
Two to five million American adults live with anosmia. They cannot detect odors of any kind � it is to smell what blindness is to sight.
Being unable to rekindle smell-based memories has been known to cause feelings of depression. Some men report a loss of libido (perhaps linked to the detection of pheromones) even to the point of impotency.
Our sense of smell influences the foods we eat and the beverages we drink. It serves as an early warning system for the detection of fire, gas leaks or spoiled food. It even improves our interpersonal relationships by protecting against objectionable body odors.
Loss of the sense can be caused by serious head injuries, but is most often the result of illness. Severe or chronic sinus infections can damage the olfactory nerves, as can certain allergies affecting the nasal cavity. Some individuals are born without the sense of smell - anosmia can be passed through one’s genes.
In the case of Dr. Wuensch, polyps had formed in his nasal cavity obstructing airflow. In 1990 he had his first sinus surgery to remove the abnormal growth. The surgery restored airflow and his sense of smell, but only for a year and a half. In the past fifteen years he has had multiple surgeries, repeated irrigations, allergy and steroidal treatments. His sense of smell, and his perception of flavors, continues to come and go.
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Thanks for using my image (that’s my mouth there). Was nice to know that you liked it!
Hi Doug,
I wouldn’t wish anosmia on anyone. As a former “anosmiac”, I had to compensate through quantity my food intake because I hardly taste anything I eat. Now that my sense of smell has started coming back, I’ve become more choosy with food and lost the avoirdupois. I’m also taking measures to avoid the regrowth of nasal polyps.
Thank you for this informative blogpost.
Hi Doug,
Nicely done. My sense of smell and appreciation of the flavour of foods has been good the past two years despite the fact that I have not had a Kenalog injection in over two years. Perhaps the other treatments I am using now have made the Kenalog injections unnecessary – but if I become anosmic again I’ll be heading to the clinic for another injection.
Hi Doug,
I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not quite as negative about my anosmia. I of course can’t compare what I taste/sense when I eat to what “olfies” can (nickname for people who can smell), but I am more or less convinced that not having any sense of smell, I compensate by having much more sensitive taste buds. Maybe not to the same extent as others can smell, but still. I can taste the difference between different brands of mineral water for example.
“To simulate the effect smell has on flavor, try sampling cola, root beer and orange soda with your eyes closed and nostrils shut. You’ll have a hard time telling which beverage is which; their tastes are essentially identical – sweet with a touch of sour or bitter. Only in their volatile flavor compounds do they differ.”
I have absolutely no difficulty in tasting the difference between these beverages, which is illustrated by the fact that I absolutely detest cola, not the other two. Fruit teas are another thing, I usually don’t taste much of anything when drinking those. And I have never accidentally eaten rotten food.
I’ve also learnt that flavor isn’t just about taste and smell, it’s also partly texture, something I find important in my food. And although I tend to sometimes use strange combinations with food, I haven’t had complaints about my cooking, so I suppose my use of herbs and combining ingredients isn’t bad.
The pheromones thing is a question mark to me. I’ve found conflicting data, some saying that pheromones are detected through the olfactory nerve, some saying that there is a seperate nerve/organ for pheromones. It would be interesting to test if I can sense them. Maybe I can, since I have no libido issues, maybe I can’t but my “circuits” have been “rewired” to be attracted by other factors.
Anyway, maybe it’s different for me, I was born without a sense of smell (which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s genetic), my olfactory nerve is un(der)developed. As such, there is no treatment available for me.
I lost what I would say is 98 % of my ability to smell and detect flavor. Two months ago after suffering a bad cold that had somewhat unusually bad respiritory symptoms, I noticed my abillity to smell was almost totally gone. I just recently started seeing a local ENT doctor and am getting tests. I surmise as the doctor says too that the rhino virus that genetically matched my nose neurons attacked and killed them. Any feedback out there? Its depressing to have no abillity to smell.
Hi Chris,
Stories like yours are disheartening. The condition is totally off the public’s radar - in spite of its endemic nature.
You still have a chance of recovering your sense of smell - although the longer you go without it, the bleaker your outlook.
I’d check out the anosmiafoundation.org and see if there are not some good resources out there or at least some like minded individuals.
Best of luck.
Thanks everyone for the comments.
the most scientific study ever done on anosmia:
http://home.earthlink.net/~phirm/index.htm
I cannot taste anything or smell anything. Where can I go? The neurologist says nothing is wrong with my MRI and spintal tap tests came back fine. What to do now? I had a mild concussion in January and the smell and taste went away in about 7 days. Please help. I’m losing my mind.
I too have completely lost my taste and smell about one year ago. I have had sinus surgery in May and it did not help. Right after the surgery I smelled a few bad smells and just briefly sometimes I get a whiff of things but not distinctly. I can tell the difference in taste of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Previously Prendisone did help, however the doc will not prescribe it often and I have not had it since the surgery so I don’t know if it would help now or not. I have been reading of the Kenalog injections and plan to discuss this with the doctor on my next visit. It is a very hard thing to get used to. I may as well eat cardboard and drink water as anything, because I don’t know what I am eating. It is also very hard to cook since I cannot adjust seasonings therefore I would rather not cook, which does not sit well with my husband. In the beginning I had constant panic attacks due to not tasting and many days I go without eating as it seems useless. I do get hungry, but after a few bites most of the time I just put it in the trash. I do sympathize with you Sherri as it is a hard thing to deal with. Any and all helpful information would be so very much appreciated. I guess I am always looking for that magical answer even though I think my taste and smell after forever gone, but one never knows what knowlege another has on a topic like this that could be helpful. Looking forward to some relief soon.
I am this guy who names soybeans as the origine of his anosmia. After two years of complete anosmia and the thirty preceeding of labile dysosmia and hyposmia; and after two years of tests “with soy” or “without soy” I say that soy is a neurotoxic or endocrinotoxic and one of its target is the olfactory system. O. L.
I lost my sense of smell roughly 5 months ago due to concussion and in the beginning I had lost all smell/taste. Now though I can smell and taste but everything smells/tastes the same and believe me it is not a nice smell/taste. It is hard to describe but maybe like rotten fruit mixed with diesel fuel. (I am only guessing what diesel fuel tastes like by the way!) I have seen lots of info stating that loss of smell can occur from a concussion but nothing about if it will come back ever. I am also wondering if there is any supplements that could be tried to help out getting back to normal. I used to love trying new, flavourful foods and now I have a hard time stomaching anything. I do have an appointment scduled to see the neurosurgeon next month. I am seriously considering asking for something (drug?) to take away the smell I do have so at least I can eat without the horrible taste. Hopefully someone might have some info to at least give me hope of smelling newly cut grass and tasting some flavourful southern foods!
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