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Several viruses and health conditions, including COVID-19, could be the reason for your loss of taste and smell.

A bouquet of flowers. A home-cooked meal. Milk that鈥檚 past its best-by date. Our senses of taste and smell help us to detect and catalog a wide spectrum of flavors and scents. Both can also serve to tell us when something鈥檚 not safe to eat. And, interestingly, what we perceive as a disruption in our may often be rooted in issues related to our .

Here Kevin Hur, MD, a rhinology specialist with the 喵咪社区 Caruso Department of Otolaryngology 鈥� Head and Neck Surgery, part of 喵咪社区, outlines 4 common reasons that may cause you to lose your sense of taste or smell.

1. Viral infections, like the flu, colds and COVID-19

If you鈥檝e had a cold, you may be all too familiar with a stuffy nose that makes it hard to smell. In fact, both the common cold and influenza can cause temporary anosmia, or a complete inability to detect odors. Scientists have also identified a loss of taste and smell among the symptoms associated with .

鈥淰iruses can damage the cells that detect odors and cause swelling in your nose, which limits airflow to smell receptors,” says Dr. Hur.

When smell is lost, often taste is, too. When you chew food, the released aromas reach your nose and activate your sense of smell. If your nose is stuffed or blocked by a cold or the flu, the odors can’t reach the sensory cells in your nose, and you lose much of the enjoyment of flavor. Foods taste bland and lose nuance.

2. Neurological conditions

鈥漇ome neurodegenerative conditions that affect the nervous system, such as 笔补谤办颈苍蝉辞苍鈥檚 disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), may affect areas of the brain responsible for processing odors that affect a patient鈥檚 smell and taste,鈥� says Dr Hur.

It鈥檚 important to note that just because you鈥檙e experiencing a loss of smell, it doesn鈥檛 mean you will develop . But reduced sense of smell, or hyposmia, is often an early sign of the disease.

3. Nasal polyps

If you鈥檙e prone to frequent sinus infections, you may develop , or benign growths in the nose that may affect smell, due to inflammation of the lining of the nose that can prevent odors from reaching smell nerves.

鈥淣asal polyps eventually can grow to a size that prevents airflow to the cells that detect odors,鈥� Dr. Hur says.

Treatment may include topical such as steroid sprays and nasal saline rinses, that shrink the polyps. In some cases, surgery also may be performed.

Once inflammation is under control, a full sense of smell may return.

4. Age

According to the National Institutes of Health, up to Americans over the age of 40 may experience changes in their sense of smell; that number increases to nearly 1 in 3 for people over the age of 80. When it comes to taste, 1 in 5 Americans may experience changes after they turn 40.

As we age, can contribute to a loss of taste and smell, including dental issues, dry mouth, certain medications, alcohol consumption and smoking. In addition, less production in the nose, a loss of nerve endings and changes in the taste buds can occur as we age, affecting smell and taste.

If you鈥檙e experiencing a loss of taste and smell, talking to your primary care physician or visiting an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in the conditions of the ear, nose and throat, may help you pinpoint what鈥檚 causing these changes in your senses.

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Tina Donvito

Tina Donvito is a freelance writer covering health, culture, travel and parenting.

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