Awareness Fuels Olfactory Advances: Treating and Managing Smell Loss

by Jennifer Fink •

The Campaign Toward Universal Taste and Smell Testing

The sense of smell is an afterthought for most people—and clinicians. Vision and hearing screenings are a standard part of medical care, from the earliest days of life, yet few healthcare providers even ask about patients’ sense of smell or taste during routine appointments.

That’s a missed opportunity to improve human health and well-being, some say, particularly given the fact that research has now shown that smell loss can be an early symptom of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In 2023, the Smell and Taste Association of North America (STANA), a patient advocacy organization, launched a petition calling for universal smell testing (Change.org. https://tinyurl.com/2rp9vmzv).

The group has partnered with the Monell Chemical Senses Center, Monell, STANA, the University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Thomas Jefferson University gathered stakeholders for a hybrid conference entitled Towards Universal Chemosensory Testing in November 2023 (PerfumerFlavorist.com. https://tinyurl.com/d5yjt42c).

During the event, participants “developed strategies and a roadmap for implementing routine smell and taste testing as part of healthcare in the United States,” according to Monell’s 2024 annual report (Monell Center. https://annualreport.2024.monell.org/).

Advocates plan to submit a topic recommendation to the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).