Self-Administered Taste Testing Without Water: Normative Data for the 53-Item WETT

COMMENT: Many of us are familiar with psychophysical testing of olfactory function—for example, the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test; however, systematized assessment of gustatory function is less well established. This study examined the WETT and analyzed the normative data generated by the examination. They found that scores decline starting in the 30s and are lower in men compared with women (a difference also noted with olfaction). This reliable self-administered test could play a helpful role in distinguishing primary smell and taste disorders as well as characterizing their severity.—Ashoke Khanwalkar, MD