These tests are hard to coordinate during a pandemic that recommends social distancing.Ī group at the Monell Chemical Senses Center reviewed existing research and found that with direct, objective measures, about 77% of COVID-19 patients had smell loss versus only 44% if researchers used more subjective self-reporting methods.Ĭases of anosmia are certainly up in Ear, Nose and Throat specialist Jay Piccirillo’s practice. But gathering more reliable objective measures requires testing patients in person by having them smell actual smells. Using subjective, patient-based questionnaires, interviews and health records can be unreliable. One of the reasons for the wide variation in the estimates of COVID-19-associated anosmia is the way that smell is measured. Anywhere from 30 to 80% of people who test positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 have reported loss of smell, known as anosmia. It was such a common complaint that it was added to the list of symptoms used by the CDC to diagnose the disease. When the SARS-CoV-2 virus arrived last year and became a global pandemic, many people who were infected reported losing their sense of smell. Or how about a new parent who can no longer smell their new baby? Many of life’s pleasures come from enjoying specific smells and losing this sense can be devastating.
So while losing your sense of smell seems like a mere inconvenience, if you can’t smell a gas leak or smoke from a fire, or even food that has gone bad, it can quickly turn into a life-threatening condition.
My dad, who had been at the stove the entire time, couldn’t smell it at all. It turned out one of the burners was no longer lit and gas was escaping quickly through the house. My cousin, who was standing near the stove, said she smelled gas. But this time, it didn’t come back.īy Christmas that year, we were all gathered in the kitchen as my dad cooked a big family dinner. As with many colds he’d had before, he lost his sense of smell. One year, my dad came down with a terrible cold and a very high fever. Anosmia treatments being studied include: Retraining the brain to smell, calming nasal inflammation and finding ways to regrow damaged nasal cells The likely targets of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are supporting cells in the nose that support growth of the nerve cells that allow us to smell 30 to 80% of people with COVID-19 report loss of smell, known as anosmia.
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