COVID loss of smell, taste may have ‘profound impact on quality of life’

Scientists in the field of olfactory and epidemiological research are struggling to discover whether one of the most common and psychologically devastating symptoms of COVID-19 – loss of taste and smell – could be permanent, according to a report published in The New York Times on Saturday. According to the report, while most patients who lose their sense of smell and taste after falling ill with COVID-19 recover after recovering, often in a matter of a few weeks, in a minority of patients the loss persists. As worldwide cases of coronavirus reach 85 million, the report presents some experts who fear that the pandemic could leave a large number of people with a permanent loss of smell and taste. Sandeep Robert Datta, associate professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School, told the NYT that “If you think all over the world about the number of people with COVID, even if only 10% have a more prolonged olfactory loss, we are talking about potentially millions of people.” Datta explained that losing your sense of smell – which is closely linked to the sense of taste – can also have a profound impact on mood and quality of life. “You think of it as an aesthetic bonus,” said Datta. “But when someone is denied their sense of smell, it changes the way they perceive the environment and their place in the environment. People’s sense of well-being diminishes. It can be really shocking and disconcerting. ”In addition to the potential immediate loss of sense of smell and taste, patients also reported symptoms of drastic changes in their perceptions of flavors and in general appetite, leading to fears of nutritional deficits.

According NYT report that some survivors of COVID-19 are plagued by phantom odors that are unpleasant and often harmful, such as the smell of burning plastic, ammonia or feces, a distortion called parosmia. Dolores Malaspina, professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, genetics and genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, told the NYT that loss of smell is a risk factor for anxiety and depression, and that olfactory dysfunction often precedes social deficits in schizophrenia and social isolation, even in healthy individuals. A recent study of 153 patients in Germany found that “smell training” – smelling is essential oils or sachets with a variety of odors (such as lavender, eucalyptus, cinnamon and chocolate) several times a day in an effort to induce smell back , may be moderately useful for those with poor olfactory functioning and for those with parosmia. However, the small sample size of the study, the short observation period and (still) unrevised peer status mean that, although it may looks promising, it is still too early for scientists to publicize it as such. In May, a study by international researchers, including one from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, found that along with partial or total loss of sense of taste and smell, patients’ sense of touch can also be diminished over the course of the disease , although it is not yet known whether this symptom can also be permanent. Last month, a research team in Barcelona found that, in addition to losing consciousness, many patients with coronavirus experienced severe nasal irritation and dryness in conjunction with the onset of sensory loss, which lasted about 12 days.