LOS ANGELES — Like living in a monochromatic world, that is how some who have lost their senses of taste and smell due to COVID-19 have described life.

Mariana Castro-Salzman had COVID early in the pandemic, March of 2020. She experienced mild symptoms, except for the loss of her sense of taste and smell. 

What You Need To Know

  • Many people with COVID-19 experience “parosmia,” a temporary loss of taste and smell

  • The condition can also distort some tastes and smells, causing nausea and other negative reactions

  • Smell training is being used by some to train their senses back to life

  • Smell training involved mentally recalling familiar smells, then smelling these scents from bottles containing essential oils

“It was really hard because there was really no answer,” said Castro-Salzman who works as a costumer. “Nobody knew how to treat this condition, and it was terrifying because I just felt like I was caged. I wasn't enjoying life at all.”

Now, almost a year later, Castro-Salzman is still struggling to get back to normal.

“I started just doing a lot of research in trying to find an answer,” she said. “To see if other people were going through it or if I was just kind of going crazy.”

Some of her senses have returned, but not in the way she would like. Now, many tastes and smells are distorted. Coffee tastes metallic, and garlic makes her nauseous. Her condition caused depression, anxiety, and a sense of isolation from her friends and family.

“I got a lot of reactions like, ‘Oh, you're just exaggerating. I'm sure you're gonna be fine,” explained Castro-Salzman.

Eventually, she found some support on a Facebook group where she learned about “parosmia,” a condition that distorts tastes and smells and affects a surprising number of COVID-19 survivors. But Castro-Salzman grew even more worried when she discovered parosmia can last for two or three years in some cases.

“The first time I read that, I started sobbing,” she recalls. “I was, like, ‘I don't think I'm going to be able to deal with this properly for three years.”

That is when Castro-Salzman decided to try smell training, a technique of mentally recalling smells, then inhaling from containers holding those smells in the form of essential oils.

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“I have improved,” she said. “At this point, it's just time, and keep doing smell training, and just wait.”

Castro-Salzman ritualistically does this routine twice a day using scents like orange, lavender, and eucalyptus. She said her senses are coming back to her slowly, but she knows it is a long road ahead.

“I still have hope, and I'm just going to wait,” she said. “A couple more years and I’ll see where I'm at.”

Mariana Castro-Salzman said she is thankful she has a supportive husband and one of the happiest moments of late was when she was able to recognize the scent of his cologne once again.