Is it possible to lose senses other then sight or hearing?

Question

I know people can go blind or deaf but is it possible/ever happened to lose your other three senses, ie touch, taste or smell?

Answer 1

Yes, definitely, here are some sources:

Taste:
http://www.bradlands.com/dailybrad/archives/000288.shtml
http://www.bjreview.com.cn/health/txt/2006-12/13/content_50635.htm

Smell: (anosmia)
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/16/203.cfm
http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob/Anosmia/anosmia.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anosmia

Touch:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anesthesia

(anaesthesia can occur naturally)

Hope this helps

Ashley

Answer 2

Yes, it is possible.

The nerves that carry the sense of smell from the nose to the brain go right through a series of small holes in the skull and directly into the olfactory (smell) lobes of the brain. If someone gets a bad bash on the head, like say in a car accident, and the brain moves relative to the skull, these tiny nerves can be severed. If this happens, the sense of smell is lost. Since the sensation of taste actually depends a lot on smell as well, the patients will sometimes report that they have also lost their ability to taste, or at least to taste well.

This injury is not uncommon actually. The good news is that these nerves are capable of growing back, and so most patients gradually regain their sense of smell and get back the pleasure of tasting.

As far as losing taste on it's own? I don't know. The sense of taste is carried from the tongue to the brain by two different nerves, the facial nerve and the glossopharyngeal nerve. To damage both simultaneously on both sides of the head would take a pretty severe injury in most cases ... perhaps losing the sense of taste might be the least of a patients problems in that case. I would at least say that this would be a pretty rare phenomenon.

There are also other senses that you didn't mention ...

One is the sense of body movement, a kinesthetic sense. This is detected in our inner ears by structures called the vestibular system. This sense can be lost, or damaged (i.e. in a patient with persistent vertigo). It is very difficult to move properly when this happens, but again, this is not too uncommon.

Another is the sense of pain. Occasionally, people can be born without the ability to detect pain. It might sound convenient, but in reality, it is very dangerous to the person affected. Without feeling pain, they are prone to injuries, especially things like burns. I remember reading of a girl who couldn't feel pain, she burned her knees one time kneeling on a radiator - she didn't realize it was hot until she smelled something burning: her!

Lastly, everything you experience is actually constructed in the brain out of incoming nerve signals. So, if you damage or destroy the parts of the brain that interpret the signals, you lose the ability to recognize the sense, even though the detectors and nerves are all OK. Thus, a brain injury like a stroke, that damages the areas of the brain needed for a sense will effective cause the loss of that sense. So, people can go blind due to strokes, for example, and they can probably lose any of the other senses this way as well, or at least lose them partially - i.e. lose touch sensation in an arm.

Answer 3

Absolutely. When someone is paralyzed they lose feeling in whatever part of their body is affected. Taste and smell all have to do with nerves as well, so if these nerves were ever damaged, or the person suffered some kind of brain damage affecting these areas, then a person can certainly lose their sense of smell or taste.

Answer 4

The answer is not definite.

You could lose your taste of "saltiness" if you are a very heavy smoker. Unless this kind of loss counts! hehe

You may also lose your sense of touch by the use of an anesthesia. A disease can also render some parts of your skin or muscles void of "sensory feelings".

Answer 5

I know of a person who lost his taste and smell senses after an accident. His friends tried to get him onto FearFactor... :P

Answer 6

Yes, it is. And to tell you the truth, I have heard of a case where the "sixth sense" was lost or at least greatly lessened by the use of prescription drugs.

Answer 7

Yes. Some people are born without them, others lose them because of accidents or illnesses.

Answer 8

Absolutely....