Anosmia or Loss of Smell from Brain Injury

For what it's worth:
Yes severe head injury can zap your sense of smell for good.
I always remember this, humorous if you were me- being there, and to remember it how it went.
Was 2 or 3 years after a severe head injury I had, was at a Doctors Office.
The Doctor happened to ask me how my sense of smell was, and I replied I can not smell at all.
Again he asked in a not so questioning way again, but instead there was like doubt in his tone of voice, in relation to what I had just said. With the Doctor then saying something to me like, "you can't smell."
The Doctor then went into a metal structure of cabinets. Which in it I could see with cabinet door open, that there were like different Medicines, substances, or whatever the proper term was for the different Medical bottles, boxes, etc., that were there.
The Doctor selected, and brought two bottles out, setting them before me.
The Doctor took a cue tip dipped it into the one bottle, then held it up right under my nose , and told me to inhale deep.
For which I did. With the Doctor asking me if I smelled anything? I said no.
He then took the other bottle, and did the same thing with a cue tip, telling me to inhale deep.
For which it was nothing for me, no smell, nothing.
Then the Doctor said right after the second time where I just inhaled deep, not saying anything.
Though the Doctor then said, "yes you have no sense of smell." (how it all went of course is not exactly word for word, but in another way it is pretty much exactly how it did go/happened. especially how much he did stress the point, that whatever the second bottle had in it, assured the Doctor that I can not smell, and that I can not smell anything- there was humor to it)
(41+ years since the wham that ended the world of smell, that was 31 days later when I was first conscious of existing in hospital bed, and for which I still greatly miss the smell of Coffee, even though I can not remember at all now- what Coffee smelled like)
Here's something I am curious about.
How long was it, for people who did lose their sense of smell, that you had moments/flashes like- where you would remember something you like the smell of (or was it even more than a flash for you- for how you remembered- or even still remember a certain smell? Which for me was like moments/flashes, where I would have a flash like memory of like the smell of coffee, but it was only real quick- and though I was not able to hold on to it, it would just be there in a flash- and then gone! For which after like 3 or 4 years it no longer happened, even those flash memories were then gone. Where try as much as I could about thinking about like the smell of Coffee (as I liked a lot the smell of Coffee [ wow, even beyond Coffee, I can not even remember something else I liked the smell of it has been so long ]- as it has been a long time now for anything to do with smelling something), yes at a certain point in time- being too long in time- that even the flash memory of Coffee was gone. That of smelling gone, never had dreams of smelling, as I do not dream well/much- like first years there was no dreaming, just go to bed- and it was all blank- sleep, then wake up (though even sleep is another story too) (try not to have a head injury if you haven't, as not good at all in many ways).
I do hate it though, how I have to wash shirts worn one day- as I have no idea if it smells dirty, or does not. Of course if home alone I do not care, but to go out- I like/prefer to have just washed shirt.
Also the many pots I have burned (how I never started a fire, from Above must be watching me for it), as no sense of smell, with a bad short term memory- both from the head injury- are a dangerous combination, drive you up a wall too.
Like the time I was down on the floor, head down doing something like reading (whatever it was), I was there for awhile not looking up paying attention to anything other than what I was into. Being alone, and being not my house. Where I then looked up, and the house was completely filled with smoke, a lot of smoke (amazing what two pieces of bread will do burned to charcoal.
Yes I was freaking out thinking there was a fire. I ran around the house looking for flames, and could not see where the smoke was coming from- as the house was completely filled with smoke!
Of course I had no memory whatsoever of the toast I had put into the toaster. That had burned to two small black chunks of charcoal, that the Fire Department reminded me of, as like I said- I did not know/remember till long too late after what I then did- which was very- Embarrassing!!!!
As I was then thinking after running through the house, seeing no fire, that there must be an electrical fire under the house- there was no cellar- only small crawl space, and I assumed an electrical fire (there was something else about the electric system that also led me to think such, and I can't remember exactly what it was- but I can remember there was something (I know- go figure, crazy).
Then I am thinking not my house, it could burn to the ground due to possibly me (thankfully only toast, though a toaster is deadly for fires), so I thought I better call the Fire department. Which I did.
Which I must have looked pretty dumb.
But when you have no sense of smell, and the short term memory problem- that things can be gone in seconds not to be remembered at all, things like such can happen.
There were some other incidents of mine on the doozy scale also. But this is too long already what I typed (I also did not write like this, or able to write for a while (decades), if someone is wondering about the connection there to severe head injury; that I also did not just type this out- took time; also being one of the few things able to work at greatly, the most, started 2.5 decades down the road.
If you can smell, next time you are near Coffee, Please go smell that great smelling Coffee for me. Thank You!

I lost my sense of smell completely over 3 months ago. I don’t remember it, but apparently I tripped and fell backwards, hitting my head on concrete steps. I then hit the front of my head and had bumps on my forehead, a really bad black eye, and bruising on my cheek. For some reason nobody sent me to the hospital, even a policeman who happened to pass by!? I was throwing up and spinning for over 10 days before I slowly started recovering. I don’t have health insurance that would cover a CAT scan, I still get dizzy often.
Thankfully I can still taste, but it’s been diminished greatly as smell and taste are intertwined. The other day I badly burned a bag of popcorn to the point where the whole kitchen was smoky. There was smoke coming out of the bag and I put my nose to it and smelled smoke for a couple seconds, which was oddly thrilling! But it was painful and it felt like the smoke went to my skull. I don’t know if it’s promising that I smelled the smoke or not.
I miss the smell of soap and shampoo and lotions. I hardly bathe anymore because what’s the point. I worry that my house reeks, and if a fire or gas leak were to happen is a scary thought. It’s very sad and a loss that’s hard to come to terms with. I already have two lifelong illnesses, so here’s another one to add to the list....:(
Even though chances aren’t good that I or many on this board regain our sense of smell, I truly hope we all do. What a loss of life, of the small pleasures, not being able to smell the air after a rainfall. Good luck all.

I suffered a TBI mid-September of 2020 and I've had both anosmia and phantosmia for the five months since then. The intensity of the phantom smell has varied over that time period, but it has recently changed so that I could swear that I now *taste* the phantom smell - but only with some foods (very sweet things, hot wings) and tooth paste. So bizarre.

My doctor at one point prescribed an SSRI that seemed to lessen the severity, but I gave it up due to side effects. I saw an earlier post on the Gabapentin, which coincidentally I was taking shortly after the accident (with no apparent relief, at least at that dosage). I'm reluctant to go on any medication, especially at high doses, but I'm not sure I'm keen on dealing with this for the rest of my life.

Hello, it might be worth looking into that lack of smell and or taste is due to zinc deficiency.
Also tinnitus is to do with the brain and not the ears. It is a sign of problems in the brain that can lead to memory loss.

has anybody tried stem cell therapy for anosmia, i think it is in still under development? i
have unilateral anosmia since 2014 after mild tbi.

there is also platlet rich plasma therapy , has somebody tried this for anosmia after tbi?

thanks all

Wow, I'm so "glad" to see so many other people in my situation. I was hit in a crosswalk in June 2019, had the brain bleed and surgery, and now my beloved coffee smells like dead fish and the sense of taste is a little strange, fresh spinach now reminds me of motor oil. Hearing that its probably permanent isn't great, but I am grateful to be alive!

I was hit by a car while walking in a crosswalk 4 years ago. I’ve suffered a severe TBI in the right frontal/temporal lobes and can no longer smell. I can taste find for the most part, however I can’t taste the difference between brown sodas and some days my taste is off, everything is bland. I get whiffs of various smells randomly and sometimes feel I’m convincing myself i can smell, like it’s in my memory. Does anyone else experience this?

I'd like to note one positive aspect of my recent brain injury. I've been an alcoholic for well over a decade now but since my motorcycle accident (Yep. Related.) 4 and a half months ago I've drank less than what I would've drunk in a week's time prior to my accident. The craving is still there but it's difficult to enjoy a bottle of Jack when it smells exactly the same as my deodorant, soap, air freshener, cologne and about 90% of everything else I use on a daily basis.
Some foods are kinda yuck now but that's a small price to pay to have my life back in order.

My mother has not been able to smell anything for almost 15 years. Is there still a way to regain her sense of smell?

I had a massive head injury in 2001 and all I had was a metal taste and smell.. Now last December I was taking neurotins and I regained my taste and smell. I was able after so many yrs to know the difference of sour sweet but couldn't distinguish the actual flavor. I wasn't sure how I got my sense back until I read about the gabapentin. I'm so grateful for this web site... thank u..

I have no sense of smell, close to 5 years now. Last good smell was a scrambled egg sandwich, but before Losing my smeller, I smelled something like a death smell, I can not express how awful it was. My husband just put an ammonia strip under my nose, I did not smell it but it felt like it burned all the way up my right nostril to my brain. Didn’t like that feeling at all, my left nostril didn’t do a thing. I do cry sometimes because I can’t smell anymore.