New symptom! bizzare smell and taste developed 2-3 months post covid

I never related my metallic turned bitter taste to the vaccine or boosters. I had a rough day or two after a couple of the vaccines, but nothing lingered. However, after I got covid, I almost immediately started with various symptoms…..Hair shedding, nasal congestion, phlegm in throat, smell/taste disorder, bitter taste, skin issues, eye irritation, paresthesia in feet and hands, etc. Most of them have improved or dissipated. I was also diagnosed with B12 deficiency around the same time and was told by one neurologist and 3 orthopedic doctors that I did not have neuropathy. Go figure. So, I don’t know for sure what culprit is responsible. Maybe several…..?

I do have hypothyroidism, but have maintained good levels for many years with 50 mcg Levothyroxine daily. My tests have always been good and I am due to get it tested again soon. Think my last one was about 10 months ago.
I’ve never had enough symptoms for Hashimoto’s. I underwent a full array for tests from my 2nd neurologist, gastroenterologist, and Rheumatologist for autoimmune diseases, and even though my ANA was abnormal, there weren’t enough other lab results to indicate autoimmune at work. (I do have type 1 diabetes and psoriasis.)

My paresthesia is improving, but the bitter taste remains intact. I really wonder if it will ever let me go.

I do feel for you with the smell/taste disorder. It’s very stressful and disruptive to one’s life. The impact it has on people is very underrated. The constant nature of something you have no control over is life changing, imo. I did do scent retraining….not sure if that helped. My food tastes normal, but without food or beverage in my mouth, I taste bitter.( Oh, right before the metallic/bitter taste I used antifungal topical body wash and took one antibiotic pill. I’ve always wondered if they were somehow related. )

I hope you have recovery. Do you still have the metallic taste or just no taste?

I recommend the Abscent website for lots of info, research, first person experience, even training etc on the various loss or distortion of the sense of smell.

Oh my gosh! I thought I was going crazy! Had Covid Aug 2024. Lost sense of taste/smell. It’s mostly back now, even though my sense of smell is not as strong as it used to be. Actually the strangest part is that I can taste/smell downy fabric softener even when it’s nowhere near me! It’s the strangest thing.

Omg! You are the first person who also had the fabric softener phantom smell!!! Man…..that’s wild. It dissipated with me and I haven’t smelled it in a while. Sadly, I still have the bitter/salty constant taste. I wonder how long that will last everyday.

Are you still getting the Downy smell? What do your doctors say about it?

I have read your story and find it very interesting. I, too, lost my taste and smell with Covid back in December of 2022. It’s now February of 2025 and still nothing. I’ve had 7 Stellate Ganglion Block injections and what they’ve done for me is not bring taste/smell back, but helped my jitters, or PTSD, if you will. I had the shakes on occasion, when my body was more tired. Now, after the SGB I don’t have them. I have tried smelling chlorine and rubbing alcohol, but I can’t even smell them! I also get phantom smells, usually smell something burning or laundry dryer sheets…very odd, I know! I do hope that we can all get our senses back soon, because I can tell you that living like this is really no fun.

LC since September 2020...
Phantom Smells: rotting fish, peanut butter (kinda enjoyed that one.) These were only out of the blue one-offs.

After second infection in March 2023, I lost my taste, except was able to sense saltiness, and bitterness. Since that round included nausea and vomiting, I tried eating crackers to settle my stomach. It was like I was pouring a salt shaker directly into my mouth with the lid off. That went away within a couple weeks.

Sometime last year I developed the nasty taste in my mouth. I never could really describe it. Maybe a mix of metallic and garbage dump. It only went away while eating. Otherwise, it was up front and NASTY. Now I get it infrequently, but when I do - yuck. 😛

Anybody get Phantom Sounds? ... Old time radio broadcasts. Drove me crazy looking for the source and never finding it.

Never a dull moment! These were such minor symptoms compared to all the others I found myself more curious about them than having any real concern. I was approved for Federal Disability (SSDI) in January '25. It is nice to get some compensation for all this, but how nice it would be to find a way to eliminate it all together. Praying toward that end for all of us.

Man…..that’s really tough….back when my smell was practically nonexistent, I didn’t realize it. Only when I took that sniff test at the ENT did I realize that I couldn’t tell what I was smelling. Then it hit me….no wonder I had low appetite and it was relatively easy to lose weight.

I did much better with my return tests and I feel I smell well now, though taste is still off. Christmas I told my niece the lemon cake was delicious, but it turns out it was vanilla. Sigh. I do hope you can get some improvement.

I feel my ENT things the nerves are damaged by the virus, but are repairable. But when? Will I ever lose this bitter taste? The last week has been particularly bad. Not sure why. I’m also exploring if this could be a digestive issue or vitamin deficiency holdover. Have any of you considered other causes?

Have you tried therapy to deal with anxiety of this loss?

I relate to much of what you say, but haven’t heard phantom sounds….I don’t think I have anyway.

This taste is terrible, but I’m fortunate that I still do taste foods. I’m very grateful for that. I sure hope you and all others who have these symptoms will improve. I’ll look for your posts.

It was after getting Covid for the 2nd time. I had 5x vaccines, and did not have symptoms from that. (Except getting really sleepy, body aches for about 24 hours.)
I dont have an auto immune disease that I know of, however when I first got long covid, I had some very strange symptoms for a few months that seemed very similar to Rheumatoid arthritis. (intense swelling/inflammation in hands, elbows, with heat- but was very strange as it seemed to move from joint to joint - at one point I could barely use my hands to grip)

Just want to report that this symptom has slowly improved.
My sense of taste and smell has become more normal.
I can drink coffee again, though it does not taste as good as it used to.
some smells still are enhanced & somewhat disgusting (Dawn dish soap still smells bad) but much more tolerable.
For example, garlic was extremely disgusting when this started and now I can have food that has a little in it.