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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:40 Symptoms of Anosmia
0:51 Causes of Anosmia
Diagnosis of Anosmia
1:57 Treatment of Anosmia




Anosmia, also known as smell blindness, is the loss of the ability to detect one or more smells.[1][2] Anosmia may be temporary or permanent.[3] It differs from hyposmia, which is a decreased sensitivity to some or all smells.[2]

Anosmia can be due to a number of factors, including an inflammation of the nasal mucosa, blockage of nasal passages or a destruction of one temporal lobe. Inflammation is due to chronic mucosa changes in the lining of the paranasal sinus and in the middle and superior turbinates.[citation needed]

When anosmia is caused by inflammatory changes in the nasal passageways, it is treated simply by reducing inflammation.[4] It can be caused by chronic meningitis and neurosyphilis that would increase intracranial pressure over a long period of time,[5] and in some cases by ciliopathy,[6] including ciliopathy due to primary ciliary dyskinesia.[7]

The term derives from the New Latin anosmia, based on Ancient Greek ἀν (an) + ὀσμή (osmḗ, "smell"; another related term, hyperosmia, refers to an increased ability to smell). Some people may be anosmic for one particular odor, a condition known as "specific anosmia". The absence of the sense of smell from birth is known as congenital anosmia.[citation needed]

In the United States, 3% of people aged over 40 are affected by anosmia.[3]