Losing your sense of smell after COVID can be more than annoying — it can affect safety, appetite, mood, and daily life, and for some people it lasts far longer than expected.
Can’t Smell Anything? The Hidden Side of COVID You Shouldn’t Ignore
One day, coffee smells rich and familiar. The next, everything seems strangely blank. That sudden change can feel unsettling, and in the case of COVID-19, it was one of the most talked-about warning signs early in the pandemic.
Smell loss is more than a sensory inconvenience — it reflects disruption within a complex neuro-olfactory network that influences safety, nutrition, and quality of life. It can be a clue that something is happening in the olfactory system — the network that helps your brain recognize odors — and in some people it lasts for months or even longer. The good news is that many people improve over time, especially when they use a structured recovery approach.
Why Smell Loss Happens
Smell loss, or anosmia, can happen for several reasons, not only COVID-19. A common cold may block odor molecules with swelling and mucus, but COVID-related smell loss often happens even when the nose is not stuffed up.
Research suggests SARS-CoV-2 usually affects the support cells in the olfactory epithelium rather than directly destroying the smell neurons themselves. When those support cells are damaged, the smell system temporarily loses its normal chemistry, support, and signal flow. That helps explain why many people lose smell suddenly and then recover as the tissue heals.
A major review in Trends in Neurosciences explains that the most plausible mechanism is injury to support cells, which disrupts mucus composition, cilia function, and energy supply to the smell receptors. In plain English: the smell sensors may still be there, but they cannot work properly until the surrounding environment recovers.
In people with long-lasting symptoms, researchers have also found evidence of persistent inflammation and changes in the olfactory tissue that may contribute to ongoing dysfunction even after the virus is no longer detectable.
Why COVID Feels Different
COVID-related smell loss became widely recognized because it often arrived fast and without the classic signs of congestion. Earlier variants were more likely to affect the olfactory region, while later omicron-lineage variants tended to cause smell loss less often.
That does not mean smell changes are gone. Research still shows that prior COVID infection can be linked to ongoing olfactory dysfunction, and some people never fully recover. In other words, the symptom may be less frequent now, but it still matters.
Scientists have also learned that the virus behaves differently depending on the variant. Johns Hopkins researchers reported that newer variants changed the way the virus interacts with the nose, helping explain why smell loss patterns evolved over time. This is one reason the symptom can look different today than it did in the earliest waves of COVID.
What Recovery Looks Like
For many people, smell returns within days or weeks. For others, recovery can take months, and some develop distorted smells such as parosmia or phantom smells called phantosmia. These changes can be especially frustrating because they often make familiar foods or everyday scents smell unpleasant, metallic, burnt, or wrong.
That matters because smell is tied to more than flavor. It helps you notice smoke, gas leaks, spoiled food, and even subtle changes in your environment. When smell goes missing, daily life gets smaller in ways people do not always expect.
A 2024 study found that 14.9% of participants still had persistent smell loss after COVID-19, and more than half reported some smell disturbance after recovery. The same study found emotional distress, eating changes, and social impact among those affected, showing that this is not a minor symptom for many patients.
What Helps Most
The strongest practical strategy is olfactory training, often described as smell therapy. The idea is simple: repeatedly expose yourself to a small set of distinct scents so the smell system receives repeated stimulation and has a better chance to recover.
A common routine is to smell four familiar scents twice daily for at least 12 weeks, focusing on each one for about 20 seconds. Research reviews and clinical studies support olfactory training as a useful approach for post-viral and post-COVID smell loss, although not every study shows the same size of benefit. That mixed evidence is normal in medicine; it means the method is promising, but recovery still varies by person and timing.
One 2024 systematic review in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience concluded that olfactory training alone can significantly improve chronic smell dysfunction, and that combination approaches may help even more in some patients. Another 2025 study reinforced that olfactory training remains a recommended treatment for COVID-related smell dysfunction.
Simple Smell Training at Home
1. Choose four familiar scents such as coffee, citrus, mint, or spices.
2. Smell each scent for about 20 seconds, focusing on what it should smell like.
3. Repeat with all four scents.
4. Practice twice daily, morning and evening.
5. Continue for at least 12 weeks, as recovery often takes time.
Tip: Keep track of any changes in your sense of smell, even small improvements.
When To Get Checked
You should speak with a clinician if smell loss is sudden, lasts more than a few weeks, or comes with other concerning symptoms. An ENT specialist can help rule out sinus disease, nasal polyps, medication effects, head injury, or neurological causes.
If smell loss is paired with shortness of breath, chest pain, confusion, weakness, or severe headache, that needs urgent medical attention. If it is simply lingering after COVID, a structured recovery plan and medical evaluation are still worthwhile.
A persistent loss of smell can sometimes overlap with other health issues too, so it should not automatically be blamed on COVID without a proper checkup. That is especially true if there is no clear infection history, if symptoms are getting worse, or if only one side of the nose seems affected.
Can Smell Loss Be Part of Long COVID?
Long COVID, or post-COVID-19 condition, refers to a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people experience at least four weeks and typically three months after first being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Anyone who has had COVID-19 can develop it, and symptoms can last for months or even years.
Researchers have identified ongoing inflammatory changes, altered gene activity, and immune-cell infiltration within the olfactory tissue of some patients with long-lasting symptoms. Studies have also found that objective smell testing often detects persistent deficits even in people who believe their sense of smell has returned to normal. These findings suggest that post-COVID smell dysfunction may represent a distinct form of Long COVID in some individuals and remains an active area of research.
Real-Life Impact
Smell disorders can affect mood, appetite, and confidence in ways people often underestimate. Many people report fear about gas leaks or spoiled food, less enjoyment during meals, and emotional distress from not adapting quickly.
A 2024 quality-of-life study found that patients with persistent smell problems often felt worried, isolated, frustrated, and less satisfied with food and social life. That matters because smell is connected to memory, comfort, relationships, and even emotional regulation.
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Latest Science In Simple Terms
The latest research points to a few important ideas. First, COVID smell loss is often tied to injury in the nose’s support system rather than complete destruction of smell nerves. Second, inflammation can delay recovery and may help explain long-lasting symptoms. Third, some people who think their smell is normal still test abnormally on formal smell testing, which means hidden loss can go unnoticed without evaluation.
Scientists are also learning that the recovery process is not always a straight line. Some people regain smell quickly, while others improve slowly or develop distorted smells first. This can happen because the smell system has to rebuild not just nerve function, but also the support environment around those nerves.
Put simply: your nose may recover slowly, your brain may need time to relearn smell patterns, and some people need more than patience alone.
Practical Steps
– Start olfactory training consistently for at least 12 weeks.
– Keep the nose healthy with saline spray if advised by a clinician, and avoid smoke and strong irritants.
– Track changes in smell, taste, appetite, and mood so you can describe them clearly at a visit.
– Seek ENT evaluation if the problem persists or worsens.
– Use extra food safety habits, such as checking expiration dates and asking another person to confirm spoiled-food smells if your smell is weak.
For some people, the biggest win is consistency. A few minutes of daily smell training may seem small, but recovery from nerve-related symptoms is often about steady repetition, not quick fixes.
What Researchers Have Found
Researchers have identified several possible reasons COVID affects smell. A major NIH-linked review explains that the virus can damage sustentacular support cells, alter mucus, affect glucose supply, and trigger cilia retraction in the olfactory epithelium. These changes can temporarily disable smell signaling even when many smell neurons survive.
Another important point is that smell recovery can happen before the entire tissue looks perfectly normal. That suggests the system can reboot function in stages, which is good news for patients who feel stuck early on. At the same time, a subset of people continue to struggle, which is why persistent symptoms deserve real attention.
The 2024 quality-of-life paper showed that smell loss can affect daily routines, emotional health, and social participation. In other words, persistent olfactory dysfunction should be recognized as a meaningful post-viral health concern rather than a minor inconvenience.
Short FAQ
Why can’t I smell anything even though my nose isn’t stuffy?
Unlike many respiratory infections, COVID-19 can impair smell perception even when nasal airflow remains normal because it often affects support cells in the smell lining rather than just blocking airflow.
Can smell loss become permanent?
Most people improve, but a minority have prolonged or persistent dysfunction.
Does smell training really work?
It is one of the best-supported non-drug approaches and is widely recommended in the literature, though results vary. The likelihood of recovery varies depending on the severity of the initial loss, age, and other individual factors.
Can distorted smells happen during recovery?
Yes. Parosmia is common during the recovery phase and can be very distressing, but it may also indicate that the smell system is still healing.
Do steroid sprays help?
Topical nasal steroids have been studied as a treatment for post-COVID smell loss, but the evidence remains mixed. Some specialists may consider them in selected cases, particularly when other nasal inflammatory conditions are present, but they are not universally recommended for all patients with post-COVID smell dysfunction. Decisions about steroid treatment should be individualized and made with a healthcare professional.
Glossary
– Anosmia: Complete loss of smell.
– Hyposmia: Reduced sense of smell.
– Parosmia: Distorted smell perception.
– Phantosmia: Smelling something that is not present.
– Olfactory epithelium: Smell tissue inside the nose.
– Sustentacular cells: Support cells that help smell neurons function.
– Olfactory training: Repeated smelling practice used to help recovery.
External References
– Johns Hopkins Medicine, on how COVID variants affect the nasal passages:
– NIH / PubMed review on olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19:
– NIH / PubMed study on persistent smell disorders after COVID-19:
– PubMed article on olfactory training for COVID-related smell dysfunction:
– Frontiers in Human Neuroscience on chronic olfactory dysfunction and training:
– Long-Term Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Review:
– Olfactory training at home: https://www.smelltaste.org.uk/smell-training/using-what-you-have-at-home/
Disclaimer
This article is for health education only and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional.
At HiGood Health, our mission is to share clean, credible health information in simple language, bust myths, and encourage healthier living. We want readers to understand not just what happens, but why it happens and what they can do next.
