Smell Training to Recover From Smell Loss (Anosmia)
Olfactory or smell training may help restore a lost sense of smell, particularly after a viral upper respiratory infection or head trauma where no physical nasal obstruction is present. Olfactory training is analogous to physical therapy used to help restore limb movement after a stroke or ear training for singers and musicians. Much of the basis found over the benefit of olfactory training or "smell therapy" stems from German research published in 2009 and later supported by a 2020 meta-analysis. What they found was that about 30% of patients who had undergone the smell training experienced some improvement in olfactory function compared to the group who had not participated.
