Parosmia
Parosmia changes how a real odor smells. Learn how it differs from phantom smells and smell loss, why perfume can seem unfamiliar, and when to seek advice.
Updated
Parosmia is a distortion in the perception of a real odor. A familiar smell may become unpleasant or simply different: coffee, food or perfume may smell burnt, chemical or otherwise unfamiliar. This differs from phantosmia, which is perceiving an odor without an external odor source.
Smell changes can follow a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, and can have other causes. They cannot be diagnosed from a single disappointing perfume. The NIDCD overview explains how clinicians assess smell disorders through history, examination and smell testing.
If several familiar everyday smells change, make a note of when it began, any recent illness and which odors seem different. That record is more useful for a medical conversation than trying to identify a faulty perfume note. There is no reliable perfume-family rule that predicts what someone with parosmia will tolerate.
You can pause wearing fragrances that have become unpleasant and postpone decisions about discarding a collection. If your smell has not returned to normal after a few weeks, seek medical advice, as the NHS recommends. Recovery varies; smell training helps some people, but a clinician can advise whether it is appropriate.
- Parosmia
- An existing odor is perceived differently from its usual character.
- Phantosmia
- An odor is perceived without an external odor source. It can occur alongside other smell changes.
- Anosmia
- Complete loss of the sense of smell.
- Hyposmia
- Reduced ability to smell, rather than total loss.
- Olfactory fatigue
- A temporary reduction in noticing an odor during continued exposure. This differs from a persistent distortion of familiar odors.
- Smell training
- Repeated, structured exposure to a set of odors as a rehabilitation approach. It can help some people with smell changes; it is not a guaranteed cure.