What is it?

Smell and taste are closely linked. The tongue's taste buds identify taste, and the nerves in the nose identify the smell. The nerves send the information to the brain, where it is integrated so that flavors are communicated and appreciated. A partial or complete loss of smell are the most common disorders- hyposmia and anosmia. Causes for loss of sense and smell include a stuffed up nasal passage in a common cold, damage to the smell receptors when suffering from a flu or from COVID-19, and tumors. Oversensitivity to smell is more common in pregnant women. Dysosmia or a distorted sense of smell can result from a sinus infection, partial damage to the olfactory nerve, poor dental hygiene, mouth infections, depression, and viral hepatitis. Reduction in the ability to taste or loss of taste commonly results from conditions that affect the tongue, by making it dry, such as Sjogren syndrome, heavy smoking, radiation therapy, drugs, and COVID-19. A distorted taste is usually the result of medications or gingivitis.