Do you remember that scrawny kid in school who was always sick, had a runny nose and huge eyeglasses? Well, I certainly do, as that was me. I missed a lot of school days in elementary school. It seemed I always had a bad cold, sore throat, ear infection or some other ailment. My mother and I went to a lot of doctors and specialists during the late 1950’s to try and figure out what was going on. They all had an opinion, but none of them had a clue. Things got better in high school, though carrying a handkerchief was always mandatory for my overactive sinuses, and earaches and colds were still quite common.
It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties that modern medicine finally figured out what was going on. Come to find out, I had the fortune of inheriting an immune deficiency from my father known as IGA. For those of you that like big words, the IG stands for Immunoglobulin, and the A denotes its part of the respiratory system. What that all means is I have no antibodies in my lungs. One of the side effects of this is I acquired Anosmia. First off, I’d be surprised if anyone knew what that was, as most people never do. Anosmia is what people who have lost their sense of smell are referred to as having.
I realized in my early teens that my sense of smell wasn’t as strong as what other people were experiencing. What would be extreme to them was only mildly noticeable to me. By the time I was around 15 or so, it was gone completely. I do remember the last thing I smelled. I was traveling to Morrisville with my mother and my best friend. A paving operation was going on next to the golf course, which was just before the town of Morrisville. My mother and my friend complained how pungent and overpowering the odor of the paving was. I could just barely detect it, and it was the last thing I ever smelled.
As most teenagers, I wanted to appear normal, so I never told anyone of my condition. At some point I did let my mother know, and of course she spread the news to other members of my family. When I was around 19-20, my future wife and I were shopping. I had previously told her of my condition, as I felt she should probably know. We entered a store with a huge display of fresh flowers, and she commented on how strong the scent was. I mentioned that even though my world was odorless, I still remembered what things smelled like.
A few years ago, I realized that is no longer true. When I was 19, my memory of odors was 4-5 years old. But now those memories are well over 55 years in my past. Since I grew up on a dairy farm, I still vaguely remember the smell of fresh cut hay and the smell of cow manure. But now I don’t know if I really do remember them or not.
When I do tell people I can’t smell, sometimes their reaction is odd. Some may say how lucky I am, as I can’t smell those awful odors they experience. I understand they are just trying to make me feel better, but if someone was blind or deaf, I wouldn’t comment on how lucky they were, as they couldn’t see those horrendous sights or be exposed to some obnoxious sounds.
Sometimes I can have fun with my condition. My brother and his wife were visiting our house one evening. I went to the bathroom, and as I was exiting, I noticed a bottle of aftershave sitting on the sink. Oh, by the way, if you ever decide to give me aftershave as a gift, please buy the blue stuff. It’s a very nice color. The green or yellow stuff don’t appeal to me at all. Anyway, when using aftershave my wife would put just a small dab on my neck and call it good. That never seemed like much at all and hardly worth the effort. I decided to do a little experiment and filled one palm up with aftershave, spread it to both hands, then applied it liberally to my face. It was quite refreshing to feel the cooling effect of the alcohol evaporating. As I walked down the hall, I was wondering if anyone would notice. Well, to my surprise their response was immediate and extreme. They all rapidly left the kitchen and hovered in the far corner of the living room, begging me not to come any closer. As usual, I assumed they were just overreacting, and I didn’t know what the big deal was. But I did honor their requests and went back to the bathroom and thoroughly washed my face. They said that it was better but still a bit overpowering. These funny things you call odors sure are mysterious.
Do you criticize a blind person for leaving the lights on? Or how about complaining to a deaf person that the TV is too loud? Quite often when I am leaving the bathroom, my wife will call out, “Did you spray?” Me: “No, I didn’t smell anything.” I figure if it doesn’t smell, there’s no sense in wasting air freshener. If it bothers her, she can spray.
My wife usually goes on a spring outing each year with her sisters and friends to Florida. My slight concern is what the house is going to smell like on her return. Without her being home, I have lost my auxiliary nose. There never seems to be a big issue upon her return, but last year she complained the house smelled musty and started opening doors and windows. So, I guess from now on, the day before she gets home, I’ll have to open everything up for a while.
As I mentioned, my wife is my nose. I have a one-smell rule. As I take leftovers out of the refrigerator, I’ll ask her to give them the smell test. One smell and she says it’s good, then okay. But if she smells it once, pauses, and smells it again, there’s no way I’m consuming that, even if she does say it’s fine. I always check expiration dates on food before they make their way to my plate. When cooking, I follow directions to the letter to ensure they come out right. My wife will say something smells done, which is helpful. Does something half done smell different from something that’s done?
People with colds complain they can’t taste anything. Welcome to my world. Flavor is a combination of odor plus taste, so my world is devoid of flavor, and I rely solely on my taste buds. All those nice spices and herbs you enjoy are a waste of time. If you want to make garlic bread, the amount of garlic I’d consider adequate would probably gag you. With taste buds you can detect salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami. I am going to assume you have no idea what umami is. Umami is known as the savory flavor. It’s extraordinarily strong in broths, gravies, soups, tomatoes, mushrooms, meats, and cheeses. Which is probably why one of my favorite meals is a nice steak smothered in mushrooms with cheese sauce. Or a nice cheeseburger covered with mushrooms.
Texture becomes especially important in food. I enjoy a nice plate of brownies. But if you add some nuts, it’s even better. Or how about some nuts, chocolate chips, and fudge frosting? Now we are getting somewhere. When cooking vegetables, I prefer them just slightly undercooked, so they still have a little snap or crunch to them. There’s too much bland mush in my world of flavors, and I try to avoid it at all costs. Ben Cohen is one of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. He also has anosmia. It is because of him that all Ben & Jerry’s ice creams have bold flavors and some type of chunks, as to him those flavors need that extra texture and boldness. I was always grateful, as I assumed he was making ice cream just for me.
And speaking of texture, it’s hard to explain, but one day on a job site, the air seemed to have a funny texture. I knew something was off. About 10-15 minutes later, someone smelled gas, which was quickly repaired. A few years later, it happened again; the air I inhaled had that funny texture. The gas leak was discovered and corrected. Maybe if everyone’s world wasn’t full of odors, they might have found it sooner.
There are things I have missed. I have no idea what my wife smells like. When my daughter was born, I missed out on what I’ve heard is the wonderful scent of a freshly powdered newborn baby. I have no idea what she smells like today. What’s so great about that new car smell everyone seems to love? My mother passed away before my father. A few weeks after her funeral, as we entered my father’s house, my brother mentioned that “Mom’s scent is no longer there,” and it made him sad. Huh? What? He must have been referring to the toiletries she used, which were no longer evident. But to me, very mystifying, and I never thought about it. People seem to love the scent of lavender. Another mystery, as I have no idea what purple smells like.
Through the years, I’ve been with some co-workers that I named “smellers.” As we would do service calls in people’s houses or places of business, it would seem at least once a week they’d ask, “Do you smell that?” Me: “No, I don’t,” or “What’s that smell?” Me: “I don’t know.” They always seemed overly concerned about the odors they came across in their world. One time a co-worker seemed surprised I didn’t smell something, and I explained I had a minor cold, which put his mind to rest. I didn’t feel like going to the bother of explaining the situation to him and had no desire to make him a member of my inner circle.
I have been a member of an anosmia support group on the internet for many years. I have never posted anything but will read articles people submitted. Sometimes someone posts that they have lost their sense of smell due to a head injury or a virus infection, and their doctor says it could be a few months before their sense of smell returns. They always seem so distraught and don’t know how they could possibly survive the next few months.
A year or so ago, I noticed a post describing how one laboratory was doing stem cell research on rats and was having minor success in getting nasal olfactory nerves to regrow. For the first time, I considered the prospect of becoming cured. Surprisingly enough, after giving it some thought, I decided that I was fine just the way I am and wasn’t interested in a cure. I am perfectly happy with my life and the world I live in. This has defined me most of my life, and I see no reason to change now. So, I will continue with my secret disability, and if you are worthy, I may even tell you about it.
— Steven, Columbia, TN
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