It’s Episode 4, Smell Loss and Dysfunction. The Absence of a sense of smell is called Anosmia. Some are born without it, and others lose it for a variety of reasons, including head trauma or illness, such as a viral infection. When smell loss emerged as a feature of Covid-19 in March of 2020, it signaled a change for the field of chemosensory research, meaning the research of smell and taste, our chemical senses. It’s estimated that over 9 million people worldwide will have sustained smell loss. The community of scientists and patients who were studying and dealing with smell loss and dysfunction are at a unique moment, and they have responded in powerful ways. Jenifer Trachtman, Director of Development at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, will share resources, and talk about this turning point in her field and what moving forward looks like. We’ll hear from Dr. Danielle Reed, a researcher at the Monell Center and one of the founding members of the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, better known as the GCCR, which is a group of dedicated scientists and advocates that formed to share information and advance scientific knowledge about the correlation between the chemical senses and respiratory illnesses like Covid-19. Katie Boateng, an anosmic patient advocate herself, is the creator of the Smell Podcast. She’ll share her wisdom from over 90 episodes.

While this episode will focus mostly on Anosmia, you’ll also hear mentions of Smell Dysfunctions. Parosmia is a distorted sense of smell, where things that used to smell nice can smell unpleasant. Hyposmia is a decreased sense of smell, and Phantosmia is a condition where smells are perceived that are not there, it’s sometimes referred to as having olfactory hallucinations. Please check out the resources offered in this episode and if you or a loved one is new to smell loss or dysfunction, from Covid or otherwise, pull up, this one’s for you.