Smell loss can be as devastating as Parkinson's and stroke

For millions of people, the ability to smell morning coffee or taste a home-cooked meal is something they barely think about.

But a new study shows that when those senses disappear, life can quickly become bleak, with patients reporting levels of misery comparable to some of the most serious chronic illnesses.

The findings, which appear in Clinical Otolaryngology, challenge the widespread belief that losing smell or taste is merely an inconvenience—and expose what experts say is a dangerous underestimation of just how debilitating these conditions can be. ...