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The loss of taste and smell that accompanied early COVID infections may have seemed like a novelty to those who weren’t afflicted.
But it wasn’t for patients who experienced the bizarre symptoms—and many still are. The majority—around 60%—of the tens of millions of Americans who were infected with COVID in 2021 lost their sense of taste and/or smell at least partially. About a quarter still hadn’t fully recovered their senses as of the end of that year, according to an article published this month in the journal The Laryngoscope.
The study examined data from nearly 30,000 U.S. adults who were surveyed about their COVID symptoms in 2021. After participants recovered from their acute infection, nearly three-quarters reported recovering their sense of smell. But nearly 24% didn’t fully recover it, and more than 3% didn’t recover any of it, researchers found. The numbers looked similar when it came to recovery of taste (or lack thereof).
Based on these figures, researchers estimate that nearly two-thirds of Americans infected with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic partially or completely lost their sense of smell and/or taste. While the majority fully recovered, nearly 28 million Americans may still be coping with the symptoms, the authors estimate.
“Many people never fully recovered those senses,” Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya, a professor of otolaryngology at the Harvard University-affiliated Mass Eye Ear and an author on the study, said in a news release about it.
Researchers also noted that the more severe a patient’s COVID symptoms, the more likely they were to lose their sense of taste and/or smell—and the less likely they were to recover it.
Loss of taste and smell impacts daily life
“Losing your sense of smell or taste isn’t as benign as you may think,” Bhattacharyya said. “It can lead to decreased eating for pleasure and, in more extreme cases, it can lead to depression and weight loss.”
Those who suffer such sensory dysfunction can’t fully enjoy food, resulting in a reduced quality of life, and may not be able to detect smells emanating from smoke, rotten food, and other potential dangers. For those involved in the culinary industry, like chefs and sommeliers, the disability even interferes with work.
One of Bhattacharyya’s patients lost 50 pounds due to his COVID-induced loss of smell.
“The patient wasn’t eating and became very sick and very depressed,” he said.
How to protect your senses from COVID
The study bolsters the case for getting the COVID vaccine and taking antiviral Paxlovid if your provider recommends it, as both have the potential to reduce the severity of COVID symptoms, the authors write.
Right now, there isn’t a standard treatment for those with dampened or absent senses of smell and/or taste, Bhattacharyya says, referring to affected patients as “a group of people who have been a bit neglected.”
The good news for those who haven’t yet been affected: As the virus has evolved, so have the symptoms. Loss of taste and smell are no longer common among COVID patients, the Harvard and Stanford universities-backed Zoe Health Study reported late last year.
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