To those who are unaffected, the loss of smell and/or taste experienced by many COVID-19 survivors may seem negligible compared with life-threatening symptoms, such as lung damage and respiratory distress, but sensory loss can have significant and lasting effects, both physically and psychologically. 

In April 2020, the Smell and Taste Disorders Center of Virginia Commonwealth University launched a study to investigate the nature and impact of these symptoms, how to manage them, and how long they are likely to last. The study is ongoing, and the findings to-date were published in the April 2021 edition of the American Journal of Otolaryngology. 

What They Did

The study took the form of a web-based nationwide survey of adults who had tested positive for COVID-19 and reported a loss of smell and/or taste sense. A follow-up survey was conducted at the six-month mark. Questions explored quality-of-life factors as well as safety events. A total of 322 respondents met all qualifications for inclusion in the study. 

What they Found

Of those 322 respondents:

• 87% reported reduced enjoyment of food.
• 56% reported general decreased enjoyment of life while unable to smell or taste. 
• 55% reported loss of appetite.
• 45% reported the inability to smell smoke as a serious safety risk concern.
• 43% reported feeling depressed.
• 37% reported weight loss.

In addition to the above, more than 70% said they missed fragrances, and more than 45% were worried about their body odor. Other participants reported concerns over their inability to detect the smell of gas leaks, spoiled food, and soiled diapers.

What it Means

Smell and Taste Disorders Center director, Dr. Evan Reiter recommends trying olfactory training therapy, a low-cost, low-risk way to help retrain your sense of smell, and suggested several safety precautions that people can take, such as:

• Checking to make sure your smoke detectors work
• Changing smoke detector batteries regularly 
• Writing the ‘open’ date on perishable food items so that you can better monitor them for freshness

While the majority of COVID-19 survivors’ sense of smell and taste improves or returns within one or two months without any intervention, of those who lose their sense of smell for longer than two months, nearly half report parosmia. Parosmia is a distortion of the olfactory sense in which one might “smell their hamburger and it smells like cat litter or they smell a milkshake and it smells like gasoline,” explained Reiter. In this way, the return of your sense of smell can be both a blessing and a curse.

“People who have had smell or taste loss are exposed to these risks of having personal safety events, depression, or reduced quality of life,” Reiter added. “It’s important for healthcare providers to have real discussions with people about what they can or should do to compensate for their loss.” 

*Brogan, M. K. (2021, Apr. 23). COVID-Related Loss of Taste and Smell: Here’s What People are Dealing With. VCU Health. https://www.vcuhealth.org/news/covid-19/covid-related-loss-of-taste-and-smell-heres-what-people-are-dealing-with

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.