Anosmia or Loss of Smell from Brain Injury

Return to article

Comments (308)

Please remember, we are not able to give medical or legal advice. If you have medical concerns, please consult your doctor. All posted comments are the views and opinions of the poster only.

You're being like my situation ..take care

Beware of the MRI following head injuries. I had a head injury and healed from it then a month later had a follow-up MRI that toasted my smell and taste permanently! Guessing that 20% of those who have lost taste and smell after a head injury lost it from the MRI and don't even know it - unless they had a burger on the way to the hospital and one immediately after the MRI.

Hello out there to whomever is reading this. On January 17th I experienced my first head injury and ended up with a fractured skull and internal bleeding. I have completely lost my sense of smell and taste. Tonight I celebrated my Birthday and ate some flavorless birthday cake for the first time in my life. No one truly knows how it feels unless they've been in these tasteless/scentless shoes. I felt alone until I stumbled onto these comments and I feel grateful for all of these stories. I have honestly been feeling sad about the inability to enjoy food and it's good to hear others feeling the same. Here is to gaining some good positivity that this will return soon. I wish all of you the same!!

Fell and fractured my skull three months ago. I lost my sense of smell and taste. a month or so ago I was able to smell coffee and taste it a bit. I was also able to completely taste an orange jelly candy. I have not given up and it helps to ready other's stories.

To all my fellow TBI friends...i fractured the back of my skull and had bleeding on my brain etc..mid November. I'm still suffering with dizziness...it feels like I'm on a fairground waltzer a lot of the time. But!!...my sense of smell and taste is non-existent. I joked about it at first with my family, laughing about it but now I don't want to actually admit how much it is affecting me. I ate yesterday for the first time in four days. I'm finding myself getting a phobia about food, I can't taste or smell it so I don't want it. The only thing I can really eat is jacket potatoes..it's the only texture I can really handle. I'm also washing myself lots in a day because I'm constantly paranoid that I may stink...haha. My neurologist has told me it's possible my senses will come back within two yrs...but chances are they won't ever. I know everybody here who's stories I've read are going through near enough the same thing as me, I've been starting to get really down about it. I'm making any excuse to not leave my house etc....but I don't want my nearest and dearest to know how much it is affecting me, I keep saying to myself that I'm just making a big deal out of it all...it's s**t what has happened to us all but with all my love I hope each and everyone of us gets to smell a roast beef dinner and a fish and chip supper again :) take care everybody, I don't feel alone anymore xxx

I'm so glad I found this post.  No longer feel so alone with this.  I too suffered trauma to brain after a fall about 2 months ago.  Unless it is something you are experiencing, others just don't comprehend the impact that not being able to smell has on a person.... My doctors were even somewhat "casual" on the subject.  Offering no counsel other than "maybe it will return"....  In the last few weeks I too have been noticing a strange smell, or "sense" of smell, more predominately in late afternoon and evening.  It is pretty constant.  The smell has nothing to do with surroundings or what item I may actually be trying to smell.   It isn't a pleasant smell, but can't really describe it.  Maybe somewhat like a metal smell described by others in the post.  I'm hoping it's a start to some regenerating in the olfactory areas of the brain.  I am going to keep positive as the brain has extraordinary healing capabilities, but it can take some time....  I'd hate to think I'll never recover my sense of smell.  There are so many memories, etc associated with smell.....  Also, to all please remember to have working fire alarms in your home and be sure to open windows when using cleaning agents.  I've even heard it suggested to not have gas and use electric stoves, etc.  It makes sense as there are dangers associated with lack of smell... Let's stay positive and support one another...  :-)...

I lost my sense of smell from crashing a quad and hitting the back of my head. To those of you who say they have a weird burning, metallic smell every time you breathe in through your nose don't worry it will go away eventually. I have know idea what it was or why it was happening. It was nauseating and there was nothing I could do about. It went away within a year. I don't remember exactly how long because I tried my hardest to ignore it. It's been almost 5 1/2 years since my accident. The only things I can smell are fresh bark mulch, even though it smells like maneur it's still amazing lol, sharpies, peanut butter when I'm rinsing off the knife under hot water and mint leaves. I've noticed when watching tv and an ad comes on for food I get a sense of what it smells like, which is weird because when I try to think of what something smells like I can't remember. I'm interested to hear what other people with the same injury smell if anything at all. Good luck and hang in there. You're not alone!

I am a newbie.  I fell on January 11, 2015 on the back of my head crossing a creek, so it has only been 8 days.  From what I can tell the jarring and the swelling are what impede the olfactory nerves in rear-skull injury cases.  I probably have not offered my head enough rest to heal faster.  Apparently brain swelling can take a very long time to subside.  I smelled a cigar yesterday and I knew what it was...no strange phantom odor.  I live in a remote location and rely upon all of my senses so I was keenly aware of the loss soon after the accident.  My sense of taste is diminished, but I think it is making me eat more, not less...I keep having just one more bit hoping I can savor it.  Thank you all for sharing - thank goodness for the internet...I'm not even sure what site I am on but I feel better informed, and not so alone.

I had a brain injury nearly 3 years now from a violent attack being in the wrong place at the wrong time by 3 of them I still cant smell anything and part of my taste has gone to which I had front lobal damage my mood swings often change to I learn to cope with it now been on tablets for brain injury since 2012 still on them and sleeping tablets to I've been told by consultants that I will never get it back now still smell the burning and taste the burning to

Having lost my sense of smell due to syncope and falling backwards onto my head I've come to understand were the myth of the "third eye" originates. It's our sense of smell. It's located in the olfactory bulb/epithelium nerves between the eyes. It provided me with years of subtle and profound insights. Though "etheric " in relation to other senses, smell is one of our most refined senses, imagine blindness with smell. Imagine blindness without smell.

Everything is on loan so my reasoned response to my condition is gratitude for the years of smelling I possessed. 

I am a T.B.I. accident March 2013 . I lost my smell , but have a horrible burning SMELL . Can anyone tell me why ?

since I lost my taste and smell 6 months ago after a truly bad cold in my head, the only smell I get is this awful, indescribable constant smell in my nose - especially when I am confronted with toast, coffee, any kind of meat (including and especially my cat's food) and I can't smell anything that I am cooking. I made carrot and coriander (cilantro) soup today and all I could smell was that same sour metallic smell that I get all the time. I am desperate.

I lost my smell from my tbi. I didn't even know it til after a couple months after. I so want to smell anything, I miss it so much. Even bad smells. It's been 5 years since my tbi. I wish it could be fixed but it can't. I get the aweful tastes and smells as well, always something different. I so want to even smell people. It's weird not to smell perfume. Cologne. Sweat with people.

IN MAY OF THIS YEAR, I FELL OF A GOLF CART AND HIT THE BACK OF MY HEAD. DIDNT HAVE ANY CONTUSIONS. JUST A BIG BRUISE AND BUMP. AND A CONCUSSION. GOT AN MRI THAT CAME UP CLEAR. THE NEXT DAY AFTER MY ACCIDENT I NOTICED I COULD NOT SMELL OR TASTE ANYTHING AT ALL. I WOULD TRY EVERY DAY TO SMELL GARLIC, COFFIE, ANYTHING THAT WAS STRONG IN ODOR AND HAD NO LUCK. THEN, IN THE LAST TWO MONTH IVE SLOWLY STARTED TO REGAIN WHAT I BELIVE IS A SLIGHT SENCE OF SMELL. I CAN SMELL THE STRAIGHTH OF THINGS. WHEN I SMELL COFFEE, I CAN SMELL THAT IS A STRONG SMELL. AND GARLIC HAS A VERY DISTINCT STRONG SMELL THAT IS DIFFERNT FROM THE SMELL  I GET FROM COFFEE. I KNOW THEY ARE NOT THE NORMAL SMELLS, BUT ITS SOMETHING. I GET WEIRD TASTES IN MY MOUTH NOW AND THEN AND WEIRD SMELLS THAT IM ASSUMING ARE WHAT ARE DESCRIBED AS PHANTOM SMELLS. IM HOPING ALL OF THIS IS A SIGN THAT I AM SLOWLY RECOVING. I AM WRITING THIS TO TELL EVEYONE WHO IS LOSING HOPE, DONT! JUST BECAUSE A DR TELLS YOU IT WONT COME BACK DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN THEY ARE RIGHT. KEEP HOPE. AS OF TODAY, I CAN SMELL THE STRENGTHS OF THINGS AND I AM CONSTANTLY TRYING TO SMELL DIFFERENT ODORS. I WILL KEEP UPDATING ON MY IMPROVEMENT. AND IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS OR WANTS TO SHARE THEIR RECOVERY SYMPTOMS OR WORDS OF HOPE, PLEASE DO. 

I fainted while in a pizza restaurant, came to on the ground looking up. Since then my sense of smell has diminished and been altered. I didn't even hit my head that hard. There was no welt, only a minor abrasion on the back of my head. This was about 4 months ago. I don't know what to do until I get medical insurance so that I can go see a doctor. Some things I can smell much better than others, like fruits and vegetables, cilantro is a winner. This is all still very stressful.

Have you recovered? Did you have any CT or MRI for head injury?

Don't give up hope. several years ago, I hit the back of my head skiing and lost my sense of smell 100%. It was very depressing. Very hard to explain to other people the overwhelming sense of loss the I felt. You don't realize, until it's gone, how much emotion and memory is linked with the sense of smell. It was almost as if someone close to me had died and I was mourning their loss. Anyway, after my accident the doctor I saw told me if it didn't come back in a week or two, that it likely never would. For the next couple years I resigned to thinking that it was gone forever. It wasn't until a friend of a friend visited, who was a neurosurgeon in Miami, that I had a little hope. He said, "don't give up hope. Nerve damage is very, very slow to heal. Your smell may still come back." Sure enough, after about three years, I started to pick up on some smells. The first things I could smell were bad things. Like rotting fish and garbage. But honestly, it was good to smell anything! Over the course of the next year or two, I regained almost all of my ability to smell. Now it's back in full. Maybe not 100%, but very close. You are correct that there is very little info available. At least now there is much more available on the Internet. My accident was in 2000, so there wasn't much of any resources. Hang in there. You are not alone. Eat well. Get lots of sleep. And perhaps look into getting some cranio sacrel therapy. That is something that could help expedite your recovery.

I had my head injury mid September 2014, fell and hit back of my head on pavement and have lost sense of smell and with it taste. The medical world do not appear to have any interest in this area, with 0 follow up or advice on the issue.  It's very depressing, although I have only suffered for a short time I guess going by what I have read you get to use to it.  I'm in hope that the nerve cells will eventually connect back.  It's interesting to see that the medical  world are using the ability of these cells ( near the olfactory nerve) to regenerate can be use to plant new nerves for spinal cord injuries helping people to walk again, let's hope they starting researching on how to help those of us who have anosmia , I guess the cells can re-grow but in a lot of cases the pathway is blocked due to the head trauma.

Just came across this whilst writing, looks promising for people who have this condition in the UK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19786773

​One taste I do come across now and then is some meat or fried products taste like what I think car oil would taste like - weird - puts me right off, mostly in processed foods too! 

I haven't looked into my loss of smell for a couple decades but after reading the bbc tonight about helping someone walk again using olfactory nerve sheaths I thought id check in to see where technology is for my broken sniffer. I had a car accident 20 years ago while driving an old 1963 toyota land cruiser. It only had lap belts because I was saving up for a full seat belt harness (I was only 19 and it came with nine) anyway it flipped and I smashed my forehead on the broken off steering column and gashed my head 7cm. Other than a crushed hand and amputated index finger I came out alright until I realised I had liar my sense of smell. Honestly it didn't bother me too much. In part because I was only 20 and also because I had such a traumatic hand injury that took precidence. My MRI showed a little bean-sized bit of damaged brain tissue that no doubt cut of the circuitry to my nose. The doctor said it would probably come back in a year or so. I continued on to study psychology in university and learnt that the olfactory nerves grow very slowly back trough the mylean sheath. It can take upto 2-3 years. In many head injuries when the brain shifts inside the skull the nerves are cut above the palette where they run. (Or something close to that if I can remember). In my case regeneration was not a likely outcome because the pathways were actually impeded with an isolated are of brain damage specific to my olfactory function in my frontal lobe. It hasn't bothered me a whole lot . Always have to remember most smells are bad... Usually for survival reasons. That being said, I still remember one day at home alone shortly after my accident I burnt three pizza lunches in the oven one after the other. I realised then that it could get dangerous. I don't get hungry until I'm ravenous because no smells trigger my sense. I have not lost any weight and still love to eat. As others mentioned, there is a whole new world of discovery in the fine balances of sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Yes 80% of my taste is gone and whe I first had coffee after my crash it tasted like an ashtray. A few phantom smells and dreams of smells, but those have mostly faded as time has passed. I too love Mexican food, it's the perfect balance of texture and spiciness for a senseless eater. Beer does not all taste the same. American lagers still taste aweful. I've grown to love West Coasr Pale Ales and many IPAs. Bitterness is the key. Sweet or mildly sweet beers are disgusting. Light beers need to be dry like Asahi. Lime in Corona is also still good. The other thing you can expect over time is a sharpened acuteness of your other senses. Although I often don't know dinner is almost ready or that it's raining because of the smell of wet asphalt, I often hear the rain first or see smoke before anyone else. That has come with time. One scary instance happened in our home. It's a small cabin and I must have bumped the gas stove knob with my child's foot while carrying him. He left with mum and I took the dogs for a 45 min walk. When I got back I walked into the cabin and went over to the stove. I could hear a breeze... Although it wasn't. It was the gas running out full bore. I quickly shit it off luckily not setting off the igniter clicker. I ran outside and opened up all the windows. the scary thing is it happened again 4 months later. That time it was on for hours. I wired the house for an electric stove... Lastly I too being into twenties, going out a lot etc was panamoid of being smelly. If have friends tell me if a shirt smelled or asked them to sample deodorants. I'd just tell them or girlfriends that they'd have to be my nose. I never was that stinky anyway and now I worry a lot less about that. Keep showered, a little pit stick once and a while and drink a pint of IPA with a spicy burrito and you're good as new...

30 years ago, I hit the back of my head when I slipped on rocks in a river. The only smells that get through are garlic, onion, Indian spices, and some chemical cleansers. I guess that if you are to lose a sense, smell isn't the worst. I can taste, but I do not think it is as strong as it should be.

I recently fell three stories and cracked my front plate and back plate in my skull and got a concussion. Ever since my sense of smell has been almost non existent

had tbi 3 1/2 yrs ago from motorcycle accident. total loss of smell and taste is about 25 percent. i keep hoping it may come back some but nope. every once in awhile i smell something, i get exited but cannot tell you what i smell? weird

i try not to put to much salt on food but thats what i can taste

i do miss smelling, food, rain, the air, cut grass ect  i keep optimistic

I've lost my sense of smell and taste for a year now from my brain being damage, all thanks to a driver in his vehicle. He decided to randomly stop full force on a 70km road, I believe 50mph in the US, to take a left turn not looking at his rear view mirror to see a motorcycle behind him. My father took action right away to stop, but stopping full force on so sudden with a bike is not easy. I flew 6-10feet off the back seat of the bike and landed face first on the opposite lane. Long story short, that accident cause me a lot of suffering, not just senses gone, but having traumatic brain injury, numbness on the left side of the body, problems picking up items from time to time and epilepsy along with losing senses for the rest of my life. It is just difficult. I was very lucky to make it alive, but now I suffer at a young age of 21 thanks to a 19 year old's careless driving. I try to smell but nothing happens. As for taste, only things that I can barely taste, as in 5% out of 100% taste of food that has lots of salt, sugar, and spice in its recipe, which from what I read up, is a natural common thing for lost of taste. Losing these senses ended up to ruin my diet after dropping 40 pounds before the accident. It's difficult to accept the loss of your senses after you relied on it for many years, and coping to your diet. I wish that I could meet with a dietitian who is skilled in the fields of helping a person contain to their diet properly knowing the loss of their sense of smell and taste. These senses do in fact, take an impact. Cause depression, and difficult in the foods you eat. There is a method though suggested by herb specialists, for those who lost their smell, apparently peppermint liquid/oil helps regain the smell back for you. I have not yet tried the method even though I've been given a sample of it, only because this method takes months before you'll start to notice a difference. Not only that, but I am afraid to take a step forward in taking this action to try it out. I've been pretty much scarred you could say. 

Thanks everyone for your comments and stories. It's heartening to have the confirmation that I'm not alone in having lost sense of taste and smell after TBI 17 months ago, and it's good for me to be reminded that other people sustained their TBI in horrendous circumstances, unlike me. Sympathy to those who suffered massive psychological trauma as well as physical injuries. My specialist says there's nothing else he can do (he didn't do much except peer into my nose, eyes and mouth, and test my hearing) and recommends positive thinking (!!).My sense of taste is almost nil (special treat of potato crisps for texture and salty taste doesn't even yield the salty part now), but smell (previously totally absent) seems to be doing something, though things don't always smell and don't smell as they should - coffee = slightly burnt toast, for example - not a good trade! Was feeling a bit down, so pleased to read about people experiencing improvement well beyond the 12 month mark my specialist gave me. Positive thinking - even when I can detect bad smells they don't smell bad, negative side - it's usually my turn to empty the compost bucket!

I got a concussion, and also lost my taste and lost my sense of smell. I happen to go to a chiropractor for my headaches, and immediately following my first adjustment, I began to smell again and taste some food. As I have continued, to go it has gotten better. I'm not sure how common this is to fix the problem, but it's worth a shot. Hope this helps!

HI had my TBI years ago in a MVA where stearing columb penatrated centre fronatal lobe, total removal of olfactory buds the result, damage to hyperthalmus .

For a while i could remember tast, sufficiently that i enjoyed food whilst from the look of occasional freinds it was less than pleasant.

As the years have passed i have lost all sense of food bar texture ..

as a result appetite has gone and i have serious weight loss ... Any advice most appresciated

René

I have a family member who was constantly smelling something bad, like they had a sinus infection or something. They also had some other weird aches and pains. the doctors couldn't find anything and finally told her to go to a psychiatrist because it was all in her head. After a cat scan or an MRI they found that she had built up water around her pituitary gland and they had to put in a shunt to drain the water.  Afterwards all the weird symptoms went away. the water was reaching into different parts of her brain and causing weird symptoms. 

Lost my sense of smell after falling backwards (TBI). I was able to smell after 3 1/2 years!!!!!!!

Had my TBI nine months ago, when I fell backwards and hip my head on the floor.  I fractured my skull and ended up staying overnight in hospital.  No smell the next day.  and for another good few months, however a few months go, I was able to smell powdery fragrant smells, and I have days when I think my smell is almost back up to 50%!!!  It is still hit and miss, but I'm optimistic about the changes over time.

Ok...I am TBI from 1 year ago. I loss my sense of smell and taste. This year, I just started smelling only like a burnt smell. I still dont taste. I think I am going crazy! I only "smell" what I think is burnt wires!  I know I am not really.....but is this the start of something coming back?  I so miss taste and smell.....mostly smell. I hate this!  I hear that accupuncture may help? Any suggestions?

I fell off 3rd story balcony in 2008. I was in a coma for about 5 days and hospitalized for 3 weeks. Walked away with TBI, broken arm and fractured skull. My thinking is clearer than ever, i've regained feeling emotions, but unfortunately my sense of smell is still 0%. I can't even smell ammonia or gas with strong wiffs. I smoke medical marijuana in California to help my appetite and food cravings which has been incredible to help me enjoy food. Still hopeful and liked the previous comment about training the brain to smell again. 

I had a TBI 3 months ago. I fell backwards on concrete floor hitting the back of my head. I spent 10 days in hospital, cognitively I was okay, but partial hearing loss in left ear (outer ear nerve?), no sense of smell and paralysis of left side of face. My face is back to normal but still no smell and minimal gains in hearing.

I am fortunate to have taste however flavor is 80% smell. I am starting to focus on and appreciate the taste of foods. Tomato juice is the only thing that actually has a better flavor than before. Bananas were a disappointment at first but now I am starting to appreciate their subtle taste as delicious.

For those with no smell, breathe in warmed vinegar. I can detect it in my nose and back of throat. It is not a "smell" but still its nice to discover a different sense and pretend to smell something. 

Cheers

I fell through my attic, about 27 feet 5.5 months ago and fractured all my left side and stayed in in the ICU for about 5 days unconscious for the first 24 hours. I noticed a week later that I don't smell anything at all. I was extremely frustrated  but i was focused on not becoming paralyzed and was into rehab aggressively and I recovered pretty fast as I had at least 19 fractures and my left side was almost replaced with metal but the reward was that I was able to go back to work in 3 months and walk with a very minimal limb and slight pain. I suddenly started to have one silly smell for everything, It was alike a mix between nutmeg and ash. Everything smells and even taste like that but with varying intensity. I do cry once in a while when I remember the smell of the grass in the spring, the smell of the sea or ocean, my perfume collection or even my wife's perfumes. That is beside loosing my taste of course. I can not tell the difference between Mango ice cream and strawberry ice cream for instance and I only eat to satisfy my hunger. I really miss my coffee and the flavors I used to blend in the hookah. I became paranoid with my hygiene and very anxious when some says " What is that smell?!" . I have not done much about and did not seek much help from doctor because as a doctor myself I know that there is not much that can be done. You never truly appreciate your blessings until you loose them. However I am always appreciative to God that I am still walking and working as I have seen those who had less traumas than the one I had and ended with paralysis. If any have regained his sense of smell after doing something different or underwent new therapy please do share with us your story, this is a very under explored territory of medicine.

I slipped and fell about 3 months ago, for the first two months, I could not smell anything, but I could taste bitter, sweet, salty...now all of a sudden, everything taste and smells like burnt toast. Everything! It's horrible.

I had head injury on 23rd Jan 2012 and I lost of my smelling sense. Still I am waiting to come it back. I feel so bad when everyone talks about smell. but still i am waiting.

I fell backwards down one step and fractured my skull about eighteen months ago.  There is no return of being able to smell, although taste (a much less sophisticated sense) gives me 'sweet, salty, bitter' sensations.  My eyes water when I peel onions, so there's some reflex activity there.

I miss everything; red and white wine taste the same, as do tea and coffee; all flavours and spices are simply bland to me now - everything tastes like oatmeal.  But it's much more than food and drink; I can't smell my children, my dog, burnt food, the scent of the plants, the woods, gasoline, perfume, bleach, vomit, smoke.  Older people often lose the sense of smell, especially those who go on to develop dementia, but there is relatively little understood about the effect of this type of loss.  Obviously, it is not as devastating a loss as hearing or vision would be, but it is sad and life-changing all the same.  I cannot believe that I would be fortunate enough to be amongst the few who do regain it eventually, but I am considering acupuncture, as one article suggests.  You do acclimatize to the new reality over time, but it's a little like seeing in black and white, when you know there are colours everywhere.

Two months ago, I woke up and got out of bed to notice that my pillow had about a 6 inch circle of blood on it.  I remember getting drunk; but I don't remember hitting the back of my head.  I must have fell backwards on a hard surface.  I noticed that my smell was absent and my taste was diminished.  I can slightly smell things like cigarette smoke, and a faint smell of vinegar  while putting my nose over the opening of a plastic, one gallon jug.  My taste is about 75 percent absent.  I still crave crave fryed foods and hamburgers.  I now have a weird smell that is always there.  That smell can closely be related to an electrical short or an overloaded electrical circuit.  I do hope my smell comes back.  I am a recovering alcoholic and this might be my wake-up call.  I have not seeked medical attention for my anosmia, nor did I seek medical attention after my head injury.  I have been able to function in every other way.  After doing a small amount of research, I am fine without being evaluated for this condition.  Things could be worse and I am thankful that I am sober again.  I thank God for all the many pleasures that I can still enjoy.

Besides describing terrible accidents (reading all these concrete- and motorcycle-stories leaves me bewildered and clueless) can anyone here recommend a certain therapy, institution or a specialist? Where did you have a good experience? 
I'm trying to get an overview of different approaches.
I would be specifically interested in surgical treatments and their success-rate.
Thank you and all fingers crossed for your recovery!
 

In 1993, I suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury. An 18 year old "man" was obsessed with my 13 year old little sister. He broke into my house in the middle of the night. He brutally murdered my Mom, my brother and tried to kill me. I was shot in the head 3 times. I was the only one out of us three who made it. I was rushed to the hospital via Air Ambulance. When I woke up, I realized a month had passed. I was unable to taste or smell most things. What I could taste or smell was awful. My doctor told me it would come back. It has been well over 20 years and still nothing. I have learned to deal with it. I found this 'disability' to be very frustrating with cooking/eating (not being able to smell or taste turns a person off food), raising 3 children (who are now 20, 16, 12) - especially when they were babies, not being able to smell the beautiful things in life. I have done it so I focus on what I can do. I have tried to remember what things smell and taste like. It has given me the ability to almost taste or smell things. Don't give up - make it work another way.

having damaged my brain after a bicycle accident 12 months ago  at the age of 53 in perth oz .i,m recovering slowly after  the injury the loss of  my smell taste and partial hearing has very slightly improved which gives one hope .            being a  skilled chef and having a very highly sensitive sense of smell n taste (especially with my  huge conk). the experience of aromas/smells and odours i now have are never good nor bad just weird from blends of burnt drilled wood to coriander to tiger balm .after analysis and speaking to many neuro's these mental injuries we all have,  it seems/ i think we all have unique and complex injuries to our brains and we all recover differently such like an individuals personality.    obviously after 12 months  i,m more looking at the optimistic and positive side now like losing weight, eating lots of food still, i just have ommitted all the food i used to love but were no good for my body (choc sugars pastrys +), being for some reason more cheerful the bang has shaken up all my neuro endorphins, remembering all those(and not missing) shitty bad smells, cigarette smoke/toilet smells holding my breath  when i was in a  new delhi bog . no more.. no offense mean't ..   good recovery and best of health try to keep smiling to everyone..                        

I lost my sense of smell 10 years ago after falling backwards on ice and bashing the back of my head. I was so concussed I never even thought to see the Dr! I lived alone. 2 weeks later I cricked my neck and saw my osteopath who asked how I had got concussion and whiplash. It later dawned on me I hadn't no sense of smell. Since then my taste has also all but gone. Eventually I had an MRI scan to see if there was any other damage and the Dr confirmed my nerve olfactory nerves were severed and I would never get my smell back. Pretty dismal. - I never smelt my baby. I figure though that there are far worse senses to lose. I enjoy chocolate and texture foods and I think much of what I taste is my memory knowing what to expect - and so it is getting worse as I get older. It's useful at times, working with teenagers! 

I was in a abusive marriage, my ex husband hit me with his car and I hit the concrete floor pretty hard. I woke up in the hospital with lost of taste and smell, this all happened January 22,2012 and I will be going on 2 years now still not being able to taste or smell. It's frustrating but I pray for it to come back. I am 25 years old, female. I understand when you say it's hurtful when people say 'oh it smells good, smell it' I feel hurt not being able to smell roses. I love roses! Or 'you have to taste this, it taste so good' I am still standing strong! I have hope it will all come back.

Don't give up! I had TBI 3 years ago. First year I couldn't smell or taste anything. Then, slowly it started coming back. It is still not as before TBI and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... but I know it will come back...
I'd like to update my comment of 5/31. The "bad smell" seems to be diminishing, as the background smell is much less noticeable now. Coffee and chocolate are still intolerable. I am still adjusting and have lost about 20-25 lbs since my sense of smell was lost. I needed to lose some but really don't want to get much thinner. I used to love bread, but now it is just taseless mush, so I have given it up. Alcohol has absolutely no allure for me now, and besides, there is no flavor to it. I have drunk the occasional beer to be social, but a Bud Light tastes the same as a craft beer--just cold and wet. I used to be in a wine club, but I dropped out as it makes no sense. I like things I can taste with my tongue--sweet, sour, salty. Most fruits are really delightful--cherries, honeydew, peaches, blueberries--but strawberries suck. All in all, I am still adjusting and still hope for improvement as there seems to be some evolution of the problem. I am encouraged by the rare stories of late improvement, but I don't hold out a great deal of hope. And if things don't change, I don't really see it as a tragedy. The funny thing is, as much as I loved coffee, chocolate and the occasional cocktail, I really don't miss them. The desire is simply not there.
I too, since third concussion have minimal sense of smell and taste, thank God it's not completely gone. I am scheduled for an MRI to see if I have completely snapped the thing that's responsible for sense of smell and taste. I have a lot more questions. It's been over a year since the last head injury. I'm having other issues too, it knocked the period out of me and put me into early menopause;-( so I recently had a biopsy due to thickened lining of my uterus. Gyne is saying I will have to have Dand C to fix lining. So lots of problems as a result of head injury, ....
This March I suffered head trauma from hitting the back of my head very hard. I spent 4 days in the hospital and a few weeks after I was released I noticed I couldn't smell anything. It has been almost six months since the accident and I'm starting to notice scents but almost everything smells the same. The weird part is I can taste everything. What should I do or be doing.
my father also had an motorcycle accident last month July 2013 and now he suffering in taste and sense of smell,,hope you can help me,,,absent of sense of smell and taste is the problem of my father
I fractured my skull and had a brain haemorrhage in 2006 and I realised I had lost my sense of smell:( but my taste has always been A OK (touch wood lol) I have been smoking pretty much since the accident but I have recently over the past year or two been getting strong wiffs:) the more I think about smells (if you don't use it you loose it! even for those who are lucky enough not to have had a severe head trauma!) the more I seem to be getting it back:D ever so slightly mind but hey ho:D the best things are worth waiting for:D:D due to this I am stopping smoking:D and here are a few things that I am going to give a go:D hopefully they can help me and everyone to:) I am going to eat and smell as much of these goodies as I can:D peppermint and cinnamon improve concentration, and decrease irritability, lemon and coffee promote clear thinking! and height concentration in general. NO DAIRY!!:( it will be hard but worth a try as it cause excess mucus! coconut milk I am going to try in my porridge:D good for serotonin levels to:)eating foods high in zinc; oysters, lentils, sunflower seeds, pecans:) (have to be whole nuts and seeds!!) get zinc supplement at least 7mg a day:) smell is heightened after exercise:D clears your tubes out:D and stay away from things that smell bad:S they are hard to know what but i have noticed especially that when i come back to the city it has a bad smell - country air does you good:) carry vanilla and lemon, short and shallow sniffs of the food your body id craving when you go to the market:D what your body craves will smell more yummy:)
My father had head injury 2 and half months ago. He recovered well from injury except that he can\'t taste and smell things. Doctors said he may or may not get taste and smell back. He is still not aware of the fact that he may not get taste and smell at all. Is there any medication which can help him to get his taste and smell back? I wish he gets these at the earliest.
I lost my sense of smell completely 12 years ago after a concussion caused by hitting the back of my head on a concrete floor. The hardest part was in the first year when I was trying to understand what had happened and what I could do about it. It was terribly frustrating not being able to smell when I still had the associations. At some point I realised that there was nothing I could do and I had to accept it. From that point, it became much easier to live with. I rationalised that as my only health complaint, it's really not that bad. I think that although my sense of smell is still completely absent, perhaps my taste buds have become more sensitised. I have since heard of someone whose sense of smell returned after 20 years. So perhaps there is hope after all...

Pages