Free Guide to Restoring Smell and Taste

Understanding Smell and Taste Loss: Causes and Basics

Smell and taste are closely connected senses that work together to help you experience food, detect dangers like smoke or spoiled food, and enjoy life's pleasures. When one or both senses diminish, it affects your quality of life and can impact nutrition and safety. Understanding what causes these losses is the first step toward exploring recovery options.

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Smell loss, also called anosmia, and taste loss, called ageusia, can happen for different reasons. According to research from the National Institutes of Health, common causes include viral infections, nasal congestion, head injuries, aging, and certain medications. During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people experienced sudden smell loss, which increased awareness about this condition. Many of these people recovered their sense of smell over weeks or months, though some recovery took longer.

The connection between smell and taste is important to understand. When you eat, smell accounts for about 80-90% of what you perceive as "taste." Your tongue can only detect five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory (umami). Everything else you experience as flavor comes from your sense of smell. This is why food tastes bland when you have a cold and your nose is congested.

Smell loss can be temporary or long-lasting depending on the cause. Temporary loss often results from colds, flu, or sinus infections and typically resolves within weeks. Longer-term loss may follow head injuries, viral infections, or result from conditions like Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. Age also plays a role—smell sensitivity peaks around age 30 and gradually declines after age 65.

Practical takeaway: Identifying when your smell or taste loss began and what might have caused it helps you understand what recovery path may work for you. Keep notes about whether the loss was sudden or gradual, if it followed an illness or medication change, and which sense was affected first.

Medical Evaluation and Professional Guidance

Before exploring recovery methods, seeing a healthcare provider is important. A doctor can determine the underlying cause of your smell or taste loss, which directly affects what approaches may help. Different causes require different strategies, and some conditions need medical treatment.

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Your primary care doctor or an ear, nose, and throat specialist (otolaryngologist) can perform tests to measure your sense of smell. One common test uses scratch-and-sniff cards with different scents. Another test, called the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), presents 40 odors. These tests help doctors understand how much function you've lost and track changes over time. Taste testing is less standardized but may involve solutions of different tastes applied to your tongue.

Medical professionals can also identify reversible causes. If your loss is due to nasal polyps, severe sinus infection, or medication side effects, treating these conditions may restore your senses. For example, if a blood pressure medication is affecting your taste, your doctor may suggest alternatives. If nasal congestion from allergies or infection is blocking smell, treating the underlying cause may help.

During your visit, be prepared to discuss:

• When the loss started and how quickly it developed
• Whether you had a recent illness, injury, or medication change
• Any other symptoms like congestion, headaches, or balance problems
• How the loss affects your daily life, eating habits, and safety
• Your medical history and current medications

Some people experience smell or taste loss alongside other conditions. Diabetes, for example, can affect taste perception. People with COVID-19 may experience smell loss even without nasal congestion. Certain neurological conditions affect the nerves involved in these senses. Your doctor can screen for these possibilities.

Practical takeaway: Schedule an appointment with your doctor or a specialist to identify the cause of your loss before trying recovery methods. Document your symptoms and timeline to share with your healthcare provider, as this information helps guide appropriate treatment.

Smell Training: A Research-Backed Recovery Method

Smell training, also called olfactory training, is a technique that shows promise for people recovering smell function. This method involves regularly sniffing specific odors with focus and intention. Research suggests it can help rewire the brain's smell processing pathways and may accelerate recovery, especially after viral infections.

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The science behind smell training relates to how your brain processes smells. When you smell something, your brain doesn't just detect the odor—it creates memories and associations with that scent. By repeatedly exposing yourself to specific smells while concentrating on them, you may stimulate the neural pathways involved in smell perception. A study published in PLOS Biology found that people who did smell training after losing smell due to infection recovered faster than those who didn't practice.

To practice smell training, you'll need four to five distinct scents. Common choices include:

• Rose or floral scents
• Lemon or citrus scents
• Clove or spice scents
• Eucalyptus or mint scents
• Coffee or other familiar household scents

The practice itself is straightforward. Each day, spend about 20 seconds with each scent. Bring the odor close to your nose and sniff gently while trying to remember what the smell is and any memories associated with it. Even if you can't smell anything, the act of attempting to smell may help. Most research suggests practicing twice daily yields better results than once daily.

Consistency matters more than intensity. People in studies who practiced regularly for several weeks to months showed improvement. Some recovered full smell function, while others experienced partial recovery. Results vary based on the cause of loss and how long ago it occurred. People who lost smell recently tend to see better results than those with long-standing loss, though recovery is still possible in some cases of long-term loss.

You don't need expensive supplies. Many people use items from their kitchen or home: ground coffee, cinnamon, lemon extract, or essential oils. The key is having scents distinct enough that your brain processes them as different experiences. Some people purchase commercial smell training kits, but these aren't necessary for the practice to work.

Practical takeaway: If you're recovering from smell loss, start smell training by selecting four to five familiar, distinct scents and practicing with them twice daily for 20 seconds each. Track whether you notice any changes in smell perception over weeks or months, and share your progress with your healthcare provider.

Dietary and Nutritional Approaches to Support Taste Recovery

What you eat can influence your taste perception and may support recovery. Certain nutrients are important for taste bud function, and dietary strategies can help compensate while you regain full taste sensation.

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Taste buds, the small sensory organs on your tongue, constantly regenerate. New taste buds form and old ones die in a cycle that typically lasts one to two weeks. However, when the nerves that send taste signals to your brain are damaged, taste buds alone can't restore function. Some nutrients support this regeneration and nerve health. Zinc, for example, is crucial for taste bud development and smell function. Studies have shown that people with zinc deficiency experience taste and smell problems, and supplementing with zinc may help some people recover these senses. Vitamin B12 and folate also support nerve function and taste perception.

While you're recovering taste, adjusting how you eat may improve nutrition and enjoyment:

• Use herbs and spices liberally in cooking, as they provide flavor through smell pathways
• Explore different textures, as texture becomes more important when taste is diminished
• Try temperature contrasts—hot and cold foods may register differently
• Experiment with foods you haven't eaten before, as novelty engages remaining taste and smell pathways
• Avoid very hot foods that could burn your mouth undetected due to reduced sensation
• Choose foods with natural sweetness or umami (savory) flavors, which may be easier to detect

Some people find that certain tastes return before others. Sweet and salty tastes sometimes return first, while bitter tastes may take longer. This uneven recovery