Anyone who suffers from anosmia (the loss of smell) will be happy to hear that olfactory training has been shown to be 30% to 50% effective in curing it.
As the olfactory nerves regenerate after being damaged (often from a virus or COVID-19), the pathway may be corrupted and improperly “rewire,” causing one smell to smell very different — often rather bad. Dr. Pasha recommends olfactory training to essentially retrain the brain to recognize familiar smells as well as to reconnect your sense of taste.
Steps Involved in Olfactory Training
Olfactory training is as simple as following these steps:
- Purchase four to five essential oil scents. Choose strong scents you are familiar with, such as rose, lemon, cloves, eucalyptus, or coffee.
- Purchase small storage containers.
- Place a few drops of each scent in separate containers and attach labels under the caps. Hiding the label will allow you to try to guess the scents as your sense of smell improves.
- Spend about 10 to 20 seconds smelling each scent, initially looking at the label. Focus on the smell and then wait a few seconds before changing scents. As your sense of smell returns, try to identify the scent without looking at the label.
- Repeat twice a day.
