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A temporary loss of smell, or anosmia, due to COVID-19 has received a lot of attention as experts have learned more about how the coronavirus impacts the entire body. A lost sense of smell or taste—which wasn’t recognized as an official symptom early on in the pandemic—has become a hallmark sign of the virus.
Now, there’s a similar-but-equally-weird symptom that a growing number of people are struggling with: parosmia, a distorted sense of smell.
Although the exact number of people dealing with parosmia is unknown, one recent review of research found that about half of people with anosmia due to COVID-19 also experienced parosmia.
While the smell distortion can vary, for most people, it makes things smell very unpleasant. People have said that it makes certain foods smell and taste like garbage; some have reported that they can’t even eat their favorite foods anymore.
But what exactly causes parosmia? And can it be treated after COVID-19? Here, doctors explain what you need to know if your senses are now ruining your go-to meal.
What is parosmia, exactly?
Parosmia is a change in the normal perception of odors, like when the smell of something familiar is distorted, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Parosmia can also cause something that normally smells nice to smell bad.
“It typically does not last forever, but it may persist for a while,” says Eric Holbrook, M.D., director of rhinology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and associate professor in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Most people recover within two to four weeks, but some may deal with it for several months or more.
What do you smell when you have parosmia?
It depends. People on Twitter have described a range of smells, including garbage and even baby oil. But, technically, parosmia simply means that your sense of smell is altered in some way. “Everyone seems to have a somewhat unique experience,” Dr. Holbrook says. “But in many cases, it’s not pleasant.”
Some people with parosmia will experience the same unpleasant scent for a variety of things (so, lemons and coffee may both smell like garbage) while others will experience unique scents for different objects, Dr. Holbrook says.
What causes parosmia?
There can be a few different causes. Parosmia is fairly common after you lose your sense of smell due to any virus. In fact, more than half of people who lose their sense of smell due to a virus will go on to have parosmia.
The disorder can also happen after a head injury, which may cause lesions in the parts of the central nervous system that are responsible for processing taste.
Although the exact reason parosmia occurs is unclear, the prevailing theory is that when the olfactory nerves (which connect your nose to your brain) are damaged by a virus, head injury, or other cause, the connection between your nose and brain is broken, explains Dr. Holbrook. When the nerves start to regrow, they may go to a different spot in the brain than before, resulting in a distorted sense of smell.
How is parosmia treated?
Parosmia is typically treated with something known as olfactory training or scent training, which involves inhaling a particular scent and thinking about what that scent should smell like. So, if you were inhaling the scent of lemon, you would try to remember what lemon smells like at the same time.
Research shows that it can be an effective treatment option. In a recent study, people who did scent training for six months showed “clinically relevant improvements” in their ability to accurately smell scents by the end of the trial.
What should you do if you think you have parosmia?
While you can do scent training on your own at home, Dr. Holbrook still recommends seeing a doctor if you have any kind of smell loss or smell distortion. “Any time there’s a distortion in your sense of smell and it persists, you should be seen by a doctor,” he says. “You want to know what the cause is.”
Parosmia is definitely annoying but there’s a silver lining: “It tells us that nerves are regenerating, and it’s one step toward recovering your sense of smell,” Dr. Holbrok says. “It’s not pleasant, but it can be a good sign.”
This article is accurate as of press time. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly evolves and the scientific community’s understanding of the novel coronavirus develops, some of the information may have changed since it was last updated. While we aim to keep all of our stories up to date, please visit online resources provided by the CDC, WHO, and your local public health department to stay informed on the latest news. Always talk to your doctor for professional medical advice.
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