Head trauma causes loss of smell/taste

[brittanyf]

Hello,
I'm 17 years of age and recently (2 months ago) had an accident that has resulted in the loss of my sense of smell and taste. I was at a lake, swinging on a rope into the water but lost my grip and wnet head first down a cliff of rocks and roots. I landed in the water but had hit the back of my head (near the crown, at the top) splitting my head open and fracturing my skull (3-4 inches). The neurologists told me I had a severe concussion as well as contusions (bruising) near the front of my brain where I damaged the nerve endings. I also have a herniated disc located in my lower back which has pinched my sciatic nerve running to my left leg.

Since the fall I have experienced several changes. The main concern I have months later is my senses. I understand the brain is complex but I feel as though I haven't recieved satisfying answers from my doctors. My doctor gave me a 3-4 month time frame to see improvements with my senses. He said I could get my taste back slightly, fully or not at all, same goes for my smell. I could get both back, one or none. To date, I have not experienced improvement with taste but recently I have been noticing (for about 2 days now) my nose is sensitive and feels as though it's tingling and I constantly smell mild "burning" so to speak. I was just wondering if this is a positive notion toward recovery or common in all patients who suffer from losing their sense of smell. Is it likely I will return to normal within my lifetime?

Also, if anyone has ever heard of anyone losing their senses after head trauma and regaining/not regaining them. Please comment, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks greatly!

[DavMaWi]

I fell 20 feet from a ladder 3 months ago. I suffered multiple broken vertebra a severely fractured shoulder and a fractured skull. I have been fighting to get back to functionality but one of the worst things is that everything smells and taste horrible. I have had drainage from my ear of the cerebral fluid. I suspect that this is the taste and smell I am experiencing. Its disgusting!!! The doctors are going to see if they can fix the drainage problem I hope this helps with the taste issue too.

[DavMaWi]

I fell 20 feet from a ladder 3 months ago. I suffered multiple broken vertebra a severely fractured shoulder and a fractured skull. I have been fighting to get back to functionality but one of the worst things is that everything smells and taste horrible. I have had drainage from my ear of the cerebral fluid. I suspect that this is the taste and smell I am experiencing. Its disgusting!!! The doctors are going to see if they can fix the drainage problem I hope this helps with the taste issue too.

[arby16]

Personally I would.  Will probe me nothing, but nice to check.  If I ever have any knock to the head now I deaf will do

[Stubz]

Hi i was just reading and i got hit from out of know where by my exes boyfriend on the street he hit me with a hammer when i was walking away and had a fractured scull this happened the day  after boxing day then on sat a lad attacked me but with his fist and was scared because of my tbi and tryed to protect my head shall i go docs and see wot they say

[Dunkster]

No matter what head injury, get it checked over! Your brain is a sensitive piece of hardware which is in a 1/4 inch thick protective scull. It may not effect you now but in time it could, and if it's found early you stand a better chance of getting through it with flying colours x

[arby16]

info about my TBI:  http://robbarton7.wix.com/1111#!home/mainPage

[Dunkster]

Hi. I was hit by car doing 72mph. My front lobe was brused, my temple bone fractured and this has caused loss of hearing on right ear, total loss of smell and total loss of taste. The crash happened on 19th Aug 2015 and to this date my senses haven't returned. I have also noticed a constant clear liquid running out of my right nostril. This is so annoying as I waterlogged tissues in no time. If anyone can help me get the right treatment please email me duncan.***@****. I am based in manchester England. I have personal injury specialists already acting on my behalf but need advice and direction. Many thanks. D Brown

[Dunkster]

Duncan . brown 12345 @ g mail . com

[Dunkster]

I also suffered my foot partially severed and I have had to have a total hip replacement op because my hip was broke in 10 places. When I was ejected out of my car I landed in bushes and a branch penetrated my adrenal gland and kidneys my arm had a open fracture also so yes I been to hell n back! I got the rebirth and glasses to prove lol. Please if you can help me get my senses. Ack please connect with us as I don't also like the changes in my personality

[arby16]

oh also, feel I should say I take quite a bit of happiness from reading there are other people who share similar issues  Thank you all for sharing.  In some way, it helps me to deal with the majority of the issues I now ace knowing that it isn't just me suffering from them.  Thanks.

[arby16]

Info about my accident
Hello, I suffered a TBI about 13 or so months ago.  I was knocked unconcscious and put into an induced coma for 6 weeks, following that was a very long road to recovery (... still on in mind) including living in a hospital for 7 months.  About 6 or so months into this I discovered I can no longer smell (Have also lost 95% of my hearing in one ear -'treated' by a hearingaid).  I used to be and still am a good chef, however that lack of smell makes things har now.  luckily I still seem to have most of my taste, just also aware that it has probably changed.  I was told by two different doctors that my smell and hearing may return after about 2 years, and one doctor that it was likely gone forever.  So far it has not returned atall yet.

Everyso often (for about 1minute every 2 weeks) I seem to catch a faint smell of something, but if I'm honest this could easily be my brain playing tricks on me.  certainly daily tests with 'perfumes' show no improvements.

[oliversnow]

I am new to this site, but not new to no sense of smell. Dec. 2011 i fell backwards on the ice, legs straight up. Was able to sit up but very dizzy. I felt like throwing up, but i made it inside. I went to the ERthe next day since i had the pounding head ache, and keep throwing up. (I am sure many of you rember that feeling). I did have a concussion and was given meds to stop throwing up. 2 weeks later a person asked me if i liked the smell of a candle. I held it to my nose and NOTHING . Went to the doc, sent to an ENT doc and was told the nasal  nerves were sliced off when my brain was thrown around from the fall. I do get strange smells, but not the right ones. It is good to know that the over eating is common. I will watch my self more. If i do not get my sense of smell back, i will have the memories. Hang in there gang, you are not alone.

[edawns74]

I was in a car accident when I was 16 and fractured my skull in 3 different places and had internal bleeding. I lost my sense of smell completely and was told I severed my olfactory nerves and would likely never gain my smell back. I am now 40 and am starting to smell again. Not everything, but I'm actually smelling things! I can smell the coffee brewing in the morning. It's strawberry season here and I have a large basket of fresh picked berries in the fridge. I can smell them when I open the fridge door. The odours are not strong, but they're there! It's giving me hope that my smell will return fully one day and I hope this gives others hope as well.

[tastenotwantnot]

Hi, I'm new to this. I recently fell while walking. I only hit my chin and front tooth which had to be replaced. A month later I've got very diminished taste. I can taste some things that are very sweet but not much else. Occasionally, I think it might be coming back but then it kind of reverses itself again. I can seem to smell things though. Does anyone know if this sounds like it was from head trauma. I never blacked out. I just landed face first.

[HED920]

Hi.  I also had a concussion/brain bleed from hitting my head during an ice skating accident.  I lost my taste and smell for a little over a year.  It did finally come back, but just yesterday I noticed that it seems to be fading again.  I'm also very fatigued and forget little words here and there or mix them up.  For instance, I say "just put it in the garage" when I mean the refrigerator.  

How have you been feeling?

Heather

[Debbie_dr]

I've had 2 different TBIs; the first was in 2005, I was on a bus at LAX and the bus driver freaked and suddenly stopped the bus and I went face first into the luggage rack. I told everyone I was fine and I just wanted to continue to fly home. Since I was on travel orders I had to be seen by a doctor to be released to go back to work. I went back to work but I struggled to do my daily functions (programming and other related tasks) and I started getting lost and had horrible headaches. I went my normal doctor in 2006 and she decided to do an MRI, I had had one in 2004 and when the radiologist compared the two. I was diagnosed with dementia and told to get my affairs in order!  I was referred to a neurologist for further testing.  He told me I had had major brain trauma from the bus accident.  He put me on medication and suggested brain exercises.  After a few years I was able to do some programming, but I was able to find other types of work.  My second one happened in 2009; I was riding on the back of my boyfriend’s motorcycle when an animal darted in front of the bike. Thank god we were in full gear and helmets; I don’t remember anything from the accident. My boyfriend said when he got to me I said I was okay and that I wanted to go to the hotel. The next morning he rode the bike home and came back in the truck to take me home. When we go home I took a shower and saw the blood in the shower from my head and I had major pain in my shoulder. I told him I should go to the ER; they immediately did a scan and sure enough I had a broken caller bone, a fractured skull and bleeding of the brain! They wanted to medevac me to another hospital but the helicopter wasn’t available. So I was taken by ambiance to southern California. I really don’t remember much until about a week or two later when I went home. My shoulder healed and all the cuts and bruises went away. But the trauma to my brain seemed different than the first; I was in a total fog. I knew things were happening around me but they didn’t make much since. I slept sitting up for the first month or two and I slept a lot!  Long story short among other things in the accident I had some hearing loss in my right ear, lost the sense of smell and taste.  My neurologist is great, he told me it may or may not come back; it’s now 2014 and I still can’t describe what I taste; it’s either sweet, sour or YUCK!  I think the thing I miss most is the small of rain, bacon and flowers.  One funny note; the type of hearing loss was to only certain types of frequencies (like crickets and alarms (high pitches), I hate crickets and if one gets in the bedroom at night I just have to lay on my left side and I can go to sleep. My doctor told me that if I have one more brain injury I will more than likely be a vegetable or die. He told me never to ride on a bike again, play sports and if I’m going to any sport event (like soccer) I needed to wear a helmet and no driving in convertibles.  Up until a year ago I did as he told me and then I began to miss riding with my boyfriend. So I decided since the Lord has a plan for me, I would continue to do what I love and go for rides on the bike.  Other things I’m still pretty cautious, but hey he has by back!  Like many of you I get depressed and angry; but what I think saves me am I known the Lord is always with me!

[trichtenn]

I had a similar experience.  Last Nov 2013, I passed out and fell back on tile in a store - woman behind told my friend she heard my head pop.  I had a fractured skull on lower right temporal area with brain bruising/ear bleed.  Transported to ICU for multiple tests, then day later to ward and discharged after 4 days.  In Dec 2013, my doc said brain had healed - concussion would take some time.  In Jan 2014, I noticed losing smell and taste - also a horrible odor I describe as tile paste/glue - sometimes almost toxic and makes me sick.  Still have it in May 2014.  After fall, I had to see multiple docs.  They don't know why I passed out - think blood pressure but not sure.  Thought heart so I wore a 30-day event monitor - but my heart is great.  Saw a Neurologist in Jan 2014 and he did tests.  I kept having headaches/scalp pain and every doc I saw told me it would take time.  Also started having balance issues, thought/speech issues and I noticed it was hard for me to handwrite anything.  In Feb 2014, one day I had a headache that wouldn't stop. Went to local ER and was told I had a subdural hematoma that had been there a while and had turned into a mass, indented my brain and also shifted my brain.  Surgery the next day - 2 bur holes drilled.  CT scans almost every 2 weeks since surgery - part of hematoma remains and the last scan showed it is decreasing.  But my Neurologist also wanted me on seizure meds which I haven't taken - my surgeon didn't think I needed them.  I know what the med can do and felt I needed to give my brain/head time to heal and not go through the mood swings.  I am improving, but smell/taste the same.  My ENT doc also told me about how the nerves sever and this is how you lose the sense of smell.  He also said I might never get it back.  My surgeon stated that since the temporal area is where smell is located - the fall probably was my reason.  It isn't a pleasant odor to have every day and not until I found this site did I have others who share any of what I have been going through.  My hope is that everyone who has responded heals and goes back to as much a normal life as possible.

[jacksgyrl]

Hi How are you getting on? I fell and hit back of my head experinecing Extreme Nausea vomiting,Dizziness etc about same time as you. Now I 've noticed this Strange sense of taste /Smell in back of nose mouth metallic/sulphurous Had MRI scan but no apparent damage. Have you noticed any changes improvement??

[rivers5]

The dizziness most likely represents vertigo. Head injury can cause a problem with inner ear which controls balance. Try to find a neuro otologist to evaluate.Google Brandt-Daroff exercises for benign positional vertigo (BPV).They are are series of position changes done 3x per day which often help.

[barbarase]

I had a tbi also and have lost my sense of smell.  I used to be the only one in the room to smell anything before anyone else did. Now I feel that same sense of loss, but I am trying to keep in mind how some aromas used to make me sick too.   I used to think it would be great if I had just a slightly weaker sense of smell.  Be careful what you wish for.  

[barbarase]

I fell while ice skating and banged the back of my head at the beginning of February.  It is almost 7 weeks.  I had a fractured skull, severe concussion and two brain bleeds.  The fracture is healing and the bleeds are gone at this point.  But I have lost my sense of smell completely. The doctors have all told me that it could come back, but only partially.  Right now I sense a faint metallic smell all the time.  It isn't strong enough to be nauseating, but it is a constant. I am hopeful but if it never returns, I am also aware of how much worse this whole nightmare could have been.

[barbarase]

I fell while ice skating and banged the back of my head at the beginning of February.  It is almost 7 weeks.  I had a fractured skull, severe concussion and two brain bleeds.  The fracture is healing and the bleeds are gone at this point.  But I have lost my sense of smell completely. The doctors have all told me that it could come back, but only partially.  Right now I sense a faint metallic smell all the time.  It isn't strong enough to be nauseating, but it is a constant. I am hopeful but if it never returns, I am also aware of how much worse this whole nightmare could have been.

[Jaguar1980]

Hello Every,
   I am so sorry to all of you and glad to know that i am not the only one either of the same problem, and doctor tells me the same , give it time, 6 months then one year then 2 years. i had a concussion after a motorcycle knocked me to the floor 18 months ago. at the beginning i did not have any sense of smell or taste except for sugar and salt in normal levels. then that kind of smoke that i smell for anything either real smoke or chicken or fish, same smell i get for all even flowers or perfumes.
it happens from time to time that i have a second of taste, last time was couple of months ago within a meal and i can say i have perfectly tasted what i eat, with all spices, but just for a second and it disappeared.

i wonder if it will get better or will always be like that as once in a while.
I would love to encourage everyone to be positive and optimistic and glad that worst things didn't happen to you.

[patg84]

Just remember whats important....... Friends, family and LIFE!!!!!!!

[patg84]

This message isnt directed to anyone. I just spent 2 hours reading every single post that was written. My name is Patrick and i got jumped and knocked out last year in November. I spent 7 days in the hospital and had a 4 inch fracture on the back of my scull. My brain brain hemorrhaging to the point that i was one day away from having brain surgery. They would have removed part of my brain to allow space in case of more swelling. I was dealing with a lot of depression and emotional ups and downs while recovering. My doctor was head of neurology at Toronto Western (best neurology department in Toronto). He also had very few answers for me. Could come back, could not. If the nerve is severed below a certain point its never coming back but there is no way to know if it has been, I also have had burnt, chemical and soapy tastes. The real reason i am posting this is for two reasons. One. It is so nice letting all of these feelings out. Knowing im not the only one going through this. Its so hard for us because no one really knows what we are going through! Two. I want everyone that reads this that is going through it to know that you are not alone. Stay positive. It could be way way way worse. What i have done to cope and use this in a positive way, (not saying everyone should), Im treating my food like fuel, If i cant taste it or smell it, i might as well. Just do what you can to be ok with what has happened and try your best to move on and make the best of your life. Without knowing you just know i know what your going through and wish you all the best. Now and forever!

[pam150]

Hi Stewartyb  I know exactly what you are going through, it sounds just like what I am dealing with.  I previously posted on here earlier this summer that I had a fall and lost all smell and taste.  When my accident happened, I did have a stronger taste and smell and could eat things and taste them.   But about a month out from the accident, I totally lost both senses.  8 months out now, and I have awful tastes (burnt or very soapy and sometimes a chemical taste)  I really don't have any smell to speak of. I am a very healthy woman (56) and am not overweight, but I have friends who just do not understand this, they think if you look normal you must be fine!  I have had friends tell me that it is a great diet plan not being able to eat food or crave food, so far from the truth!  I have lost 11 pounds through all this though.  I am scheduled to go to the Smell and Taste clinic in Philadelphia, PA next month.  The Dr. there (Dr. Richard Doty) is very well known and although he may not be able to treat me, he will give me a plan on how bad it is.  You could google him if you are interested.  My best to you!  It really is not fun is it?  

[ComplicatedChart]

Did the OP ever return?  I just wanted to chime in my experience, but couldn't make it through all the replies visually.

I have suffered two brain injuries in the span of a year.  The first was an ABI reaction to antibiotics.  I did have my sense of smell and taste compromised.  (I could taste, but everything tasted rotten, and smell was reduced.)  It eventually returned after two months.

The second injury was a whiplash car incident.  I did not lost the sense of smell or taste at all that time.

I think smell and taste can regenerate, as olfactory nerves are some of the few that do regrow.  If the damage is actually not to the nerves, but to the brain processing the sense of smell and taste, I am less sure.  I hope the OP has recovered somewhat!

[Stewartyb]

I had a fall a few months ago fractured the back of my head and I have bruising at the front. I have lost all taste and smell. Reacently I have tasted really strong tasting things but only ever so slitely. Today I have a really strong sweet burning smell and taste it's not nice at all. Have any if you had this and is this my senses starting to come back?