Sunday February 27th is Anosmia Awareness Day. Why should you care?
By Robin Albin & Daria Myers
“I knew the guy sitting next to me on my JetBlue flight to Ft. Lauderdale was about to eat a tuna fish sandwich — even before he unwrapped it. And once he did, the smell of tuna lingered in the air for the remainder of the two plus-hour flight. Even double masking with KN95 plus surgical masks couldn’t eliminate or even reduce my need to gag from the pungent aroma coupled with the vinegary smell of mayonnaise.”
My name is Robin and I am something of a super smeller. I have a highly sensitive sense of smell.
And so does my business partner, Daria. “I have always had a better than average sniffer. I can instantly tell when my husband is cheating…on his diet! I don’t have to see the jar…or the spoon. They’ve been carefully concealed. But as soon as I enter the kitchen, I can detect the undeniable smell of peanut butter. And he’s caught — red handed every time.”
We both developed a pretty good “nose” — the term used to describe a person with the knowledge of a large variety of fragrance ingredients and their smells — after years of inhaling a wide variety of aromas while developing products and perfumes at Estée Lauder and a slew of other beauty and fragrance companies.
So why would two fairly sophisticated aroma-philes with an acute senses of smell care about a relatively unknown occasion like Anosmia Awareness Day?
Imagine waking up and not being able to smell the coffee? Or stopping in a field of flowers unable to smell the roses. Imagine the inability to smell trouble — a gas leak, a burning stove, smoke or a bottle of sour milk. Or for that matter, not knowing when something smells fishy.
Imagine having anosmia — the clinical term that describes the total loss of smell.
Until 2020, smell loss ranked just below a hangnail in importance. In fact, according to a 2011 study by McCann Worldgroup , 53% of those aged 16–22 and 48% of those aged 23–30 said they would rather give up their sense of smell than their smart phone!
Stats like these earned smell the moniker the “Cinderella Sense” — stepchild and forgotten when compared to our other senses especially sight and hearing. We take our everyday sense of smell for granted. Sadly, as the song Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
Then along came Covid. And suddenly, Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, that changed. Cinderella found a glass slipper. According to one study reported by Journal of Internal Medicine, the widely publicized pandemic phenomenon resulted in 86% of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 — over six million people in the U.S., all told — reporting problems with their sense of smell. Anosmia became a topic of conversation. Researchers were besieged with requests. “Find me a cure.” There are currently none. And while many who lose their sense of smell due to Covid, regain it over time, others will not.
Beyond Covid, smell loss can be caused by other viral infections, upper respiratory illnesses, head trauma, exposure to dangerous chemicals, smoking, poor air quality — and even allergies.
Loss of smell can sneak up on you with age — in fact, appearing at a much-earlier age that you’d expect. According to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, smell disorders affect as many 1 in 4 Americans over the age of 40.
As we learned more about smell loss as part of our research for our new brand Everlusting™, we actually became anosmia-phobes — fearful of losing our most powerful and provocative sense. We personally couldn’t imagine a life without the delicious aroma of freshly baked cookies, or the exhilarating smell of a field of flowers, the sensual scent of our favorite perfume — or even the smell of those we love.
For the millions of people who suffer from Anosmia, it can be devastating — affecting their physical and emotional health and well-being. The New York Times reported: “Studies have linked anosmia to social isolation and anhedonia, an inability to feel pleasure, as well as a strange sense of detachment and isolation.” That would never work for us — and it shouldn’t work for you.
The Monell Chemical Senses Center, the world’s only independent, non-profit scientific institute dedicated to interdisciplinary basic research on the senses of taste and smell, reported those experiencing anosmia as feeling depressed, anxious, angry, empty, fearful, lonely and vulnerable. Respondents said things like: “My world is smaller, darker and sad sometimes. I have difficulties meeting new people because I am so unsure about myself, how I smell and how they will think I smell. It is a vicious circle you can’t get out of.” And “I think the most painful part of the loss was the lack of compassion from others. Colleagues and acquaintances joked that I wouldn’t have to smell my daughter’s dirty diapers anymore.”
Back to Anosmia Awareness Day. It is this Sunday, February 27th. Since its launch in 2012, it has become an international event, joined by thousands of people around the world and supported by leading research centers, including the Monell Center, STANA (The Smell and Taste Association of North America), AbScent and the advocacy organization Fifth Sense.
“Okay, that’s interesting,” you say. “But I don’t have anosmia, so tell me again, why should I care?” Here are 5 good reasons.
1. Our sense of smell is one of the first indicators of early-stage neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Schizophrenia and often appears before other symptoms such as memory loss are noticed. In one study conducted at Columbia University Medical Center, researchers found that those who experienced odor impairment were more than three times as likely to have memory decline a few months later compared with those who didn’t.
2. Smell loss can impact your longevity. It’s been dubbed the canary in the coal mine. According to a study conducted by Jayant M. Pinto, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago, thirty-nine percent of subjects aged 57 to 85 who failed to detect certain common scents — like peppermint or fish — died within a 5-year period, compared to 19 percent of those with moderate smell loss and just 10 percent of those with a healthy sense of smell. While smell loss doesn’t directly cause death, it can be an early warning that something has gone badly wrong and that damage has been done.
3. Smell loss impacts our lifestyle and well-being. Somewhere between 75% and 95% of what we think of taste actually comes from our sense of smell. Many people with anosmia lose their appetites, putting them at risk of nutritional deficits and unintended weight loss. And without a good sense of smell, the joy of a meal is lost. “Anything I eat is the same as chewing cardboard,” noted one respondent in a Monell Center study. Why indulge in chocolate cake if you can’t taste it? And since much of socializing depends on eating, smell loss can lead to isolation.
4. Smell is the most ancient sense and directly linked to our memory and emotions. Certain aromas have the ability to boost dopamine levels and uplift our mood because they connect us with happy memories (i.e. the smell of freshly baked brownies can prompt you to remember how you used to bake brownies).
5. Smell connects us to others and the world. Almost every aspect of our life — from our own personal hygiene to sexual intimacy depends on our ability to smell. Smell helps us form relationships with those around us. So, no surprise — smell loss can produce a wide range of negative emotions including feelings of isolation, loss, confidence, depression, and sadness. One Monell Center respondent noted: “Life seems more two-dimensional, somehow lacking depth — sometimes it can feel like living in a bubble as everyone.”
Is your sniffer up to snuff? Smell testing is a great benchmark for smell loss. Yet, doctors don’t routinely offer one. Usually smell tests are costly — in terms of money, time, and trained administrators. But it doesn’t have to be the case. SCENTinel, a rapid smell test recently developed by the Monell Center solves all of these problems. A great place to start is by asking your physician for a smell test during your next routine physical.
If you’ve lost your sense of smell, be sure to see a doctor. Remember, changes in your sense of smell may be an early warning sign of a more serious condition.
Want to learn more about anosmia? Check out The Monell Center’s page: https://smellforlife.monell.org/
