3 Changes in Your Sense of Smell That Indicate Dementia

Dementia is an ever-increasing problem in the broader field of old-age-induced cognitive decline. According to the Population Reference Bureau, more than 11% of women, and up to 8% of men, that are over the age of 90 tend to contract dementia.

In addition, PRB reveals that as a large population of baby boomers succumbs to old age, the rise in dementia cases will be record-breaking. Moreover, a variety of different symptoms made it even harder to get a foresight on dementia, until recently.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have revealed that our sense of smell is strongly attached to the condition of our cognitive brain, and oftentimes, the loss in function of our sniffers can mean that you might be getting close to having dementia.

Read more about what signs you should be looking out for!

1. Smells Aren’t So Recognizable Anymore

Our sense of smell helps us recognize different patterns, aromas, and a lot more in the air around us, and oftentimes, smells can bring back certain memories because they’re familiar.

However, the researchers at the University of Chicago explain that as dementia and cognitive decline take place, even the smells you used to recognize instantly will come off as “different” to you.

However, if you’re not sure if you or someone you know is suffering from cognitive decline or dementia or not, this is an easy identification of the initial phases of the disease that allows you to be aware at a much earlier period.

2. You Can’t Distinguish Different Smells

Like most mammals, we’ve inherited the skill of identifying different smells and scents around us, and we use them for a lot of different purposes.

Though studies reveal that as we age and cognitive decline kicks in, your sense of smell identification will likely be affected, and in the worst cases of dementia, it might be completely wiped out.

3. Smell Hallucinations

Sure, in most cases of dementia and cognitive decline, studies reveal that people start to lose their grasp on the sense of smell, and have trouble distinguishing between the different smells.

However, there are often cases where dementia patients might smell something that others can’t, which we term smell hallucination.

This typically includes the sensation of smelling something burning or a rancid smell now and then. In scientific terms, this phenomenon is called phantosmia, which, according to Mayo Clinic, is “a condition that makes you detect certain smells that aren’t there.”

Bottom Line

Dementia, a brain-related disease that has been swarming the boomers of the US, often shows itself in various forms and symptoms before getting serious, and one of the most important of these symptoms arises in your sense of smell. 

This is, in no way, an exhaustive list of the symptoms of Dementia, but it’s a good place to start to self-diagnose or help someone you know.