Taste and Smell Loss Due to Traumatic Brain Injury. Implications for Kansas City Area Brain Injury Treatment?

University of Montreal scientists have discovered that traumatic brain injury (TBI), ranging from moderate to severe, can cause a loss of smell and/or taste. The team of Canadian scientists recruited 49 people with Traumatic Brain Injury (73% male with an average age of 43) and had them fill out questionnaires along with conducting tests to measure loss of smell and taste. Their study found that 55% of those individuals had an impaired sense of smell and 41% of those studied had a loss sense of taste.
 

The questionnaire and test results indicate that patients with frontal brain injuries are more likely to have loss of smell, which plays a large role in everyday life. Loss of smell causes health and safety risks in daily lives, as we use our sense of smell for eating, detecting dangers of fire or gas leaks. Additionally, loss of sense of smell has been linked to poor quality of life leading to significant consequences as depression, mood swings, concerns about personal hygiene, and loss of appetite.

The experienced traumatic brain injury lawyers at Roswold Law Group, based in Kansas City and representing brain injury victims in Missouri and Kansas, are always highly encouraged when there are new developments that may lead to better evaluation and treatment for our brain injured clients. Loss of sense and smell is indeed a significant problem for many brain injury victims and we are hopeful these new developments will ultimately result in a better quality of life.