Smell & Taste Disorders

Smell and taste disorders can cause odors, tastes, or flavors to be diminished, misread or distorted. They may cause the detection of a bad odor or taste from something that is normally pleasant.

The most common smell and taste disorders are:

• Anosmia- the loss of smell
• Ageusia- the loss of taste
• Hyposmia- the reduced ability to smell
• Hypogeusia- the reduced ability to taste sweet, sour, bitter, or salty things.

These disorders can affect quality of life and be a sign of an underlying condition or health problem including:

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Poor nutrition
• Nervous system diseases including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease and multiple sclerosis

Causes

It is possible to be born with a smell or taste disorder. But most are caused by:

• Illness including cold, flu, sinus infection, allergies
• Head injury
• Hormone changes
• Dental or mouth problems
• Nasal problems
• Certain medications
• Use of drug or tobacco products including cocaine or cigarette smoking.

Treatment

The treatment of smell and taste disorders will depend on what may be causing it. Treatment options may include the correction of the underlying medical problem, surgical removal of obstructions that may be the cause or counseling.