How "normal" is it to not have a sense of smell? I lost mine to a head injury..are there other out there?????

Question

Yeah..I lost it after a head trauma due to a skateboard mishap. Now I miss the smell of things. I love food, and now I can't even smell food cooking, or my wife's Tommy Girl perfume...mmmm./. Are there others out there that have LOST their sense of smell? And...how did you cope with the changes? Please talk to me!! I also lost some taste sensation and hearing in one of my ears as a result of the fall.

Answer 1

While your condition is truly sad it does happen. Obviously! The head injury damaged your cranial nerves. The one that was damaged was your Olfactory. That is your smell nerve. The reason why taste is also affected is because taste is very closely related to smell. Your hearing could also be nerve damage or you could have damaged the small bones in your ear that help conduct the sound. I have worked in ICU's and with a head wound, recovery is a crapshoot. I have seen pt's who will never recover and it is so sad. To cope I would have to say savor other things. You wife's touch, smile, or voice. The feel of the wind on your face when skateboarding. I hope you find a way to deal with it. Good Luck.

Answer 2

My ex- husband lost his sense of smell and taste completly after a head injury. He never said anything about not being able to smell. Sometimes your better without it. But he did miss tasting things terribly. I don't think theres a special way to cope with it. But he did get his back within about 2 years.

Answer 3

Of course it is not "normal" to lose your sense of smell and partial loss of hearing. The loss of taste is directly connected to the loss of smell. This result of head trauma is common. I just listened to a presentation by neurologist about this, and the mechanism by which it occurs. Unfortunately it is usually permanent. However never lose hope and be thankful with what your brain sustained that there was no further loss of movement, or cognitive abilities.

Answer 4

OMG. I have no sense of smell either I have talked to people and doctors and it is rare to have it but actually I'm going to see a specialist in January to talk more about it. I really dont know why i cannot smell but your reason is heard of...the doctor kept asking if I suffered any trauma, physically or emotionally and my answer is no to the both of them so my reason is still unknown.

Basically it sucks not smelling but I just try not to think too much about it and I look at the bright side: you can't smell peoples stinky farts or stinky breath. Just try to have a positive look on it and don't think too much about it.

Answer 5

My cousin had the same thing happen to her - she was in a motorcycle accident (no helmet) and experienced nerve damage due to head trauma.

Answer 6

my ex lost his sense of smell when he was a teenage and playing with bottle rockets. he does miss it, he thinks sometimes he gets it back, but i dont think so. he has gone to the doctor, to see if there is anything they can do, they say, maybe, but no guaranty. he makes jokes about it, and that works for him.

Answer 7

i'd say about a 10. interior the darkish, i will tell my kin aside with the help of their man or woman scents. heavily, i will. Comes from being in part blind. the different senses have taken over.

Answer 8

My boss says she can't smell.

I don't know how it happened, that's just what she says.

They say that if you can't smell that food tastes different.

Answer 9

Not "normal", but earlier answers indicate it's not unheard of.
does make eating a pain, as most of what we think of as 'taste' is smell-related!