Among the five senses, smelling complications are quite rare. However, a new study published by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) showed that the sense of smell is a lot more complex than thought.
The study showed that 6.5% of Americans over the age of 40 experience a phenomenon called phantom smells in which they smell odors that do not actually exist. This finding is important because the sense of smell can influence appetite, desire for food, perception of danger, and mood.
Image Source: Tim Robberts
The study consisted of a survey conducted by The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 7,417 adults over the age of 40 and found that 6.5% of those surveyed experienced phantom odors. The survey asked participants whether they smell certain odors at times even though a source for the odor did not exist. The results of the survey showed that almost 5% of people over the age of 60 have experienced these phantom odors, with this phenomenon occurring more often in women. Based on previous research and the new findings, researchers came to the conclusion that as the sense of smell decreases with age, the perception of phantom odors could increase with age.
The sense of smell can help detect danger signals early on. Furthermore, the sense of smell is closely intertwined with the sense of taste. Changes in the sense of smell could affect appetite and eating habits. The enjoyment of food comes from not only taste but also smell.
While not as common, smell disorders can still be very serious. For example, related to this study, a disorder known as phantosmia includes symptoms of smelling odors that do not exist. While the causes of phantom odors are still unclear, the researchers stated that risk factors possibly include socioeconomic status and poor health as those affected by these factors may be more exposed to pollutants and toxins that could affect smell.
Other disorders include hyposmia, which is a diminished ability to smell odors, and anosmia, which occurs when someone cannot detect any odors. Most of these disorders are caused by aging, smoking, and infections, to name a few.
While the findings of this study do provide some new information on phantom odors, much is still unknown about them. For future experiments, the researchers hope to discover and understand clearly the causes of phantom odors.
Feature Image Source: fotofabrika – stock.adobe.com
