AgePage

How Smell and Taste 

Change as You Age

Sally’s Story

Sally looked forward to Thanksgiving dinner at her 

daughter’s house every year. She loved the smell of the 

turkey and all the fixings. She couldn’t wait to dig in. 

But this year, it didn’t smell like Thanksgiving, and 

when Sally ate the holiday food, she felt let down. It 

wasn’t as tasty as she remembered. No one else seemed to 

notice. Sally wondered what might be wrong: Could her 

senses be the problem?

Did you know that your sense of smell and taste 

are connected? As you get older, these senses can 

change, and, like Sally, you may find that certain 

foods aren’t as flavorful as they used to be. 

Changes in smell or taste can also be a sign of a 

larger problem.

Your Sense of Smell

Smell is an important sense. Certain smells, 

like your dad’s cologne, can help you recall a 

memory. Other smells, like smoke from a fire, can 

alert you to danger. When you can’t smell things 

you enjoy, like your morning coffee or spring 

flowers, life may seem dull.

As you get older, your sense of smell may fade. 

Your sense of smell is closely related to your sense 

of taste. When you can’t smell, food may taste 

bland. You may even lose interest in eating.

What Causes Loss of Smell?

Many problems cause a loss of smell that lasts 

for a short time. This temporary loss of smell may 

be due to:

■ A cold or flu that causes a stuffy nose. The 

ability to smell will come back when you’re better. 

■ Coronavirus infection, which sometimes causes 

a new loss of smell. You should regain your sense 

of smell after all other symptoms have gone away, 

however if it doesn’t return, seek medical care as 

soon as possible. 

■ Allergies. Try to stay away from things you’re 

allergic to, like pollen and pets. Talk to your 

doctor about how to manage your allergies.

■ A harmless growth (called a polyp) in the nose 

or sinuses that gives you a runny nose. Having the 

growth removed may help.

■ Some medications like antibiotics or blood 

pressure medicine. Ask your doctor if there is 

another medicine you can take.

■ Radiation, chemotherapy, and other cancer 

treatments. Your sense of smell may return when 

treatment stops.

Some things can cause a long-lasting loss of 

smell. A head injury, for example, can damage the 

nerves related to smell.

Sometimes, losing your sense of smell may be 

an early sign of a more serious disorder, such as 

Parkinson’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, or 

Alzheimer’s disease. Be sure to tell your doctor 

about any change in your sense of smell.

Learn more about the sense of smell in

older adults. 

Smells Can Keep You Safe

It’s important to be aware of odors around you. 

You need to be able to detect smoke, gas leaks, 

spoiled food, and vapors from potentially 

dangerous household chemicals.

■ Smoke — check your smoke detectors once a 

year to make sure they work.

■ Gas leaks — make sure you have a gas detector 

in your home.

■ Spoiled food — throw out food that’s been in 

the refrigerator too long.

■ Household chemicals — make sure there is 

fresh air where you live and work.

These safety measures are especially important 

if your sense of smell has diminished.

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Your Sense of Taste

There are tiny taste buds inside your mouth: 

On your tongue, in your throat, even on the roof 

of your mouth. What we call “flavor” is based on 

five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and 

savory. These flavors — plus the sensations of 

heat, coolness, and texture, combine inside the 

mouth to give us a sense of taste. Along with how 

it tastes, how food smells is also part of what 

makes up its flavor.

When food tastes bland, many people try to 

improve the flavor by adding more salt or sugar. 

This may not be healthy for older people, 

especially if you have medical problems like high 

blood pressure or diabetes (high blood sugar).

People who have lost some of their sense of 

taste and smell may not eat the foods they need to 

stay healthy. This can lead to other issues such as:

■ Weight loss or gain

■ Malnutrition (not getting the calories, protein, 

carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals you need 

from the food)

Eating food that is good for you is important to 

your health. If you have a problem with how food 

tastes, be sure to talk with your doctor.

What Causes Loss of Taste?

Many things can cause you to lose your sense 

of taste. If the salivary glands are damaged or 

aren’t producing enough saliva, this can affect 

taste. Most of the time there are ways to help with 

the problem.

A new loss of taste is a symptom that can occur 

with coronavirus infection. You should regain your 

sense of taste after all other symptoms have gone 

away, however if it doesn’t return, seek medical 

care as soon as possible.

Medications, like antibiotics and pills to lower 

cholesterol and blood pressure, can sometimes 

change how food tastes. Some medicines, such as 

those for high blood pressure, depression, and 

bladder-control issues, can make your mouth dry. 

Having a dry mouth can cause food to taste funny 

and also make it hard to swallow. Talk to your 

doctor if you think a medicine is affecting your 

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sense of taste. There may be different medicines 

that you can try. Do not stop taking your medicine.

Gum disease, an infection in your mouth, or 

issues with your dentures can leave a bad taste in 

your mouth that changes the way food tastes. 

Brushing your teeth, flossing, and using 

mouthwash can help prevent these problems. Talk 

to your dentist if you have a bad taste in your 

mouth that won’t go away.

Alcohol can alter how food tastes. Cutting back 

or stopping drinking may help. Smoking can also 

reduce your sense of taste. Quitting may help.

Cancer Treatments and Taste

People who are having cancer treatments 

might have a problem with taste. Your sense of 

taste will often return once treatments stop.

Cancer treatments can make food taste bad or 

“off.” Some say that food tastes metallic. This 

funny taste may keep some people from eating 

healthy food. If this happens to you, try to:

■ Eat four or five small meals during the day 

instead of three large meals.

■ Eat cold food, including yogurt, pudding, and 

gelatin dessert. Cold food may taste better than 

hot food.

■ Eat fresh, uncooked vegetables. Cooked 

vegetables can have strong odors that may not

be appealing.

■ Drink lots of fluids, including water, weak tea, 

juice, and ginger ale.

■ Test new foods to find ones you like.

■ Brush your teeth before and after eating.

■ Use plastic forks and spoons if food tastes 

metallic.

■ If food tastes bland, marinate foods to improve 

their flavor or add spices to foods. 

■ If red meat tastes strange, switch to other highprotein foods such as chicken, eggs, fish, peanut 

butter, turkey, beans, or dairy products. 

■ If foods taste salty, bitter, or acidic, try 

sweetening them. 

■ If you have a bad taste in your mouth, try 

sugar-free lemon drops, gum, or mints.
Colors and Spices Can Help

If you’re having trouble smelling and tasting 

your food, try adding color and texture to make it 

more interesting. For example, try eating brightly 

colored vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, 

broccoli, and tomatoes. Also, if your diet allows, 

flavor your food with a little butter, olive oil, 

cheese, nuts, or fresh herbs like sage, thyme, or 

rosemary. To put some zing in your food, add 

mustard, hot pepper, onions, garlic, ginger, 

different spices, or lemon or lime juice. Choose 

foods that look good to you.

An Otolaryngologist: A Specialist for 

Smell and Taste

If the foods you enjoy don’t smell or taste the 

way you think they should, talk to your doctor. He 

or she might suggest you see a specialist who treats 

people with smell and taste problems. This kind of 

doctor is called an otolaryngologist (oh-toh-laring-gol-uh-jist), also known as an ENT (which 

stands for ear, nose, and throat). An 

otolaryngologist works on problems related to the 

ear, nose, and throat, as well as the larynx (voice 

box), mouth, and parts of the neck and face. The 

doctor may ask:

■ Can you smell anything at all?

■ Can you taste any food?

■ When did you first notice the problem?

■ Is the problem getting worse?

■ Have you been told that you have allergies or

chronic sinus problems?

■ What medicines do you take?

There are likely ways to help fix the problem. If

not, the doctor can help you cope with your 

changes in smell and taste.

For More Information About

Smell and Taste

U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

888-723-3366

www.fda.gov/about-fda/office-foods-and-veterinarymedicine/center-food-safety-and-applied-nutrition-cfsan

National Cancer Institute

800-422-6237 (toll-free)

cancergovstaff@mail.nih.gov

www.cancer.gov

National Institute on Deafness and Other 

Communication Disorders

800-241-1044 (toll-free)

800-241-1055 (TTY/toll-free)

nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov

www.nidcd.nih.gov

National Institute of Dental

and Craniofacial Research

866-232-4528 (toll-free)

nidcrinfo@mail.nih.gov

www.nidcr.nih.gov

For information on health and aging, including 

resources on caregiving and Alzheimer’s disease, 

contact:

National Institute on Aging Information Center

800-222-2225 (toll-free)

800-222-4225 (TTY/toll-free)

niaic@nia.nih.gov

www.nia.nih.gov

Visit www.nia.nih.gov/health to find more health 

and aging information from NIA and subscribe to 

email alerts. Visit https://order.nia.nih.gov to order 

free print publications.

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National Institute

on Aging

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health®

June 2020