The Psychological Impact of Smell Loss
Given that our sense of smell clearly plays an important part in our psychological make-up, in addition to it being one of the five ways in which we connect with the world around us, its absence can have a profound impact. Anosmia sufferers often talk of feeling isolated and cut-off from the world around them, and experiencing a ‘blunting’ of the emotions. Smell loss can affect one’s ability to form and maintain close personal relationships and can lead to depression. An important issue here is the fact that smell loss is invisible to all but the patient; how would you know that you had met an anosmia sufferer unless they themselves told you? This is one of the reasons, alongside the general lack of understanding of the impact that smell has on our lives, why anosmia has never received much attention – you really do not know what you have got until it is gone.
Going back to the points made about the strong connection between smell and memory, it can be seen that losing one’s sense of smell can result in the loss of an important sentimental pathway to memories.
Research has shown that loss of olfactory function can be an indicator of something far more serious. Smell loss occurs with both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimers, and studies have indicated that a diminishing sense of smell can be an early sign of the onset of both conditions, occurring several years before motor skill problems develop.