hat are some of the causes of taste and smell disorders?


The most common cause is aging. Smell loss is far greater than taste loss. The sense of smell is most accurate between the ages of 30 and 60. After age 60, smell loss continues to increase. In people 65-80, half have moderate to severe smell loss; above age 80, seventy-five percent have moderate to severe smell loss.

Beyond aging, about twenty percent of smell and taste disorders are due to viral infections which damage the smell receptors in the nose. Another twenty percent are due to disease of the nasal cavity which includes polyps, sinusitis and allergies. An additional twenty percent is due to various medications, smoking, vitamin deficiency, head trauma, brain tumors, chemical exposure and the effects of radiation. Smoking impairs both smell and taste. Stopping smoking may preserve function. But it may take as many years to restore the sense of taste and smell as one actually smoked. Unfortunately, as many as ten to twenty percent of cases do not have an identifiable cause.