Smell training improves lost sense of smell after virus or trauma

The five senses are something many of us take for granted, until an illness or disorder causes one to stop working properly.

Smell training does just that, allowing for rehabilitation of the olfactory system that allows us to smell a grill out on a hot summer night or budding flowers in the spring. After a trauma or virus impacts this system, patients might be referred to smell training, just as someone with an orthopedic injury might find themselves in physical therapy, says Dr. Lee Mandel, an otolaryngologist and facial plastic surgeon at Florida Sinus and Snoring Specialists.

While it seems specific and not something you’d ever think you need, over 3% of Americans will experience parosmia at some point in their lives, according to Cleveland Clinic, also known as a distorted sense of smell. For some, the first time they came to know this phenomenon was during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which up to 75% of people infected with the virus experienced this as a symptom, they add. For most people, it resolves on its own. For others, smell training might be helpful.

"Smell training is primarily intended for patients with sensorineural smell loss. In these patients, the problem involves…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/life/