Thank you, Celia16. So Interesting! But, oh dear! Another 🐇 hole….and I’m collecting more ailments than a dog has fleas!

My journey with parosmia & anosmia began in May, after what I presumed to be a mild cold. Just felt generally crummy. It coincided with an old root canal acting up slightly. (It wasn’t the dang root canal—had it checked out at the endodontist.) I developed an odd taste in my mouth that no amount of brushing or flossing seemed to help. Then water took on a strange unpleasant aftertaste. It did not matter if it was seltzer, or filtered, flavored or from a bottle — yuck! The only thing that tasted somewhat normal to me was milk, especially chocolate milk. This went on for 2 or 3 months.

I went to a botanical garden and was shocked that I could barely smell any of the flowers. The pine trees too lost all their lovely fragrance. On the plus side, I could no longer detect certain bad odors, but then how would I know if the milk or cheese has gone bad?

By mid-summer, this loss of scent evolved again. OK, water now tasted alright, but the malady had migrated to new scents. All my dairy products (cottage cheese, yogurt, packaged cheese) that came in a plastic container now took on a horrid smell, something like burnt plastic. It did not matter where it was purchased, or which manufacturer. And, oh, no! EVEN COFFEE, my morning salvation!!!!! The scent of fresh coffee beans is enough to make me gag.

What is so curious is that the problem is not a static one. It migrates! Prior to this, I had an absurdly well- developed sense of smell, kind of like a bloodhound. (In fact, I could detect cigarette smoke from a block away; active gas leaks no one else could smell; know who had been in a room just by a faint scent left behind….!). Could a pre-existing hypersensitivity to smells predispose one to it going off the rails with Covid? 🤔

I dearly hope this is but a temporary olfactory hiatus. Life has lost so much of its fragrance and nuance! Very depressing to think how gray the world might stay.