Smell Training (Olfactory Training)
March 18, 2024
This post is about Smell Training and is building on an earlier HU post “Olfactory enrichment improves olfactory ability in humans with olfactory loss due to Parkinson’s” healthunlocked.com/cure-par...
That earlier post posits that Smell Training may be able to restore the sense of smell to PWP AND restoring the sense of smell MAY improve the brain of PWP.
This post is not written to debate the validity of the premise laid out in the previous post. This post is only to share what I have learned about how to do Smell Training.
How to do Smell Training:
I got most of this information from a retired website: abscent.org.uk/
What is smell training?
Smell training is a technique that can help to stimulate the sense of smell and encourage regeneration of the olfactory nerve. The first scientific research about smell training was published in 2009.
What does it mean to ‘smell mindfully’?
When smell training, it is important to give your full attention to the task at hand. Try not to have too many other distractions. It may help to close your eyes. Concentrate on what you are doing.
Whatever your experience, it is important to be accepting of that experience but continue to be curious about it. This form of concentration during smell training is similar to a mindfulness practice.
What’s the best way to smell train?
The most important aspect of smell training is to do it regularly, twice daily, for a minimum of four months. Sniff each oil for 20 seconds and then pause for 15 seconds before moving on. First thing on waking and last thing before bed is a good way to start.
The more you smell train, the better the outcome. Once it becomes part of your routine, it can also be fun to add new smells to your line up.
How is smell training different from aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is the belief that different plant oils have specific therapeutic effects on the body, and that different oils have different uses.
Smell training only focuses on the specific fragrances of the oils, and not any potential therapeutic effects of them. Smell training isn’t a ‘cure’, more of a ‘workout’ for your nose and the smell-memory area of your brain.
How can smell training work?
Smell training works by stimulating the sense of smell. It is this stimulation of the nerve that encourages regeneration of the olfactory nerve. Think of it as a form of physiotherapy for your nose.
Do the essential oils need to be organic for smell training to work?
No, they do not. Organic refers to the way the plant materials were grown.
The use of essential oils for smell training is purely as a stimulant for the sense of smell. In fact, you don’t need to use essential oils at all for smell training. Herbs and spices from your pantry would also work. It’s not about the *thing* you smell train with, but about the *smelling*
How do I know if smell training is for me?
Smell training might help if you’ve lost your sense of smell after a virus or have received a mild head injury. If you experience any kind of smell messages at all – whether they are indistinct, unrecognizable or distorted – it means you have some limited function of the olfactory nerve. In that case, you could try smell training.
Think of it as a type of physiotherapy for your nose.
Smell training is not a quick fix
Like stroke rehabilitation, smell training takes a long time. It does not depend on what you smell, but what your brain is doing with the exercise. You should expect to continue smell training for at least four months to benefit from it.
Making a smell training kit: the do’s and don'ts:
• DO USE AMBER GLASS: It protects essential oils from the sunlight. The jar doesn’t need to be big – 30ml/1oz jars are perfect. I got a 25 pack of 1 oz amber jars from Amazon for $19: amazon.com/dp/B09N35WPG9?re...
• DON’T SMELL TRAIN FROM THE OIL BOTTLE: The hole at the top of an essential oil bottle is tiny. The ‘scent plume’ that is escaping from the bottle is small compared to the intensity of aroma you get with a jar. You want confidence, so use a jar.
• DO USE THE CORRECT PAPER: The best kind of paper is absorbent and has no coloring. Water color paper, such as you find in the children’s art supply section of a department store, is good.
• DON’T USE SOAP TO RINSE YOUR JAR: Use boiling water to rinse out your jar and dry upside down. Don’t leave the lid to soak, otherwise the liner will absorb the water. Dampness is the enemy! Allow to dry for at least 24 hours.
• DO CHANGE THE PAPER PERIODICALLY: Oils will go off in time (sunlight and heat make that happen fast). Protected in amber jars they will stay fresh for 3 to 4 months. After this time, it’s advisable to replace the absorbent paper.
The smell training technique
Open a jar and hold it close to your nose. Take quick, gentle ‘bunny’ sniffs for 20 seconds. Really concentrate on what you are doing – focus your thoughts on what it is you are trying to smell. Be as attentive as you can and really try to ‘find’ that smell.
Relax, take a few breaths and move on to the next fragrance.
Work through all four fragrances in turn.
What is classical olfactory training?
The study was designed using classical olfactory training (COT). Professor Thomas Hummel et al. first described a structured method for smell training using concentrations of four odours (rose, eucalyptus, lemon, and cloves), which is now called ‘classical olfactory training’ (COT). They reported the benefit of COT over 12 weeks in the treatment of olfactory disorders from various causes. The AbScent Original Smell Training kit is designed on the principles used by Professor Hummel and is suitable for classical olfactory training.
What is modified olfactory training?
Since the original study, there have been several other studies looking at the difference that using different types and numbers of odours could make to effective olfactory training. In particular, the work published by Dr Aytag Altundag and team in 2015 found that continuing smell training using four different odours after the 12th week, and four more odours after the 24th week produced better results compared to using the same four odours throughout the entire study.
This practice is referred to as ‘modified olfactory training’. Some people think this boost to the efficacy of smell training comes from the change to different odours. Others think that smell training is more interesting to do if there are new odours and therefore people are more happy to keep the training going.
The best essential oils for smell training?
The oils don’t matter – it’s how you train that really helps taste and smell to recover
• People often worry about whether they are using the ‘right’ fragrances for smell training. Does the brand matter? Is organic better? Is lemon better than rose for smell training? Should I be training with the odors that I can’t smell at all, like smoke?
• Luckily we have a very straightforward answer. It’s not so much what you smell that makes for the best smell training: it’s how you train that really helps taste and smell to recover.
• In fact, anything with an odor can be used for smell training – it doesn’t have to be a fragrant oil. Essential oils are often recommended when you’re making your own smell training kit because they are easily available and inexpensive. But the brand, production method or fragrance doesn’t make a difference.
Study shows PEA-LUT (palmitoylethanolamide and luteolin) improves smell training outcomes
• Research suggests that inflammation in the olfactory bulb and central nervous system might have a role to play in preventing the recovery of smell in patients with smell loss resulting from Covid-19 infection. This led the research team to investigate whether treating the inflammation could help. They used PEA-LUT in ultra micro-ionised powder form.
• The clinical trial was conducted across several hospitals in Italy, working with people who had lost their sense of smell for more than six months. All the participants were asked to do smell training for three months, alongside taking a supplement. 130 people were given ultra micro-ionised PEA-LUT, and 55 people in the control group were given a placebo, although patients did not know which group they were in.
• Overall, 92% of patients in the group taking PEA-LUT experienced an improvement in their sense of smell, compared with 42% of the group who were given the placebo. And those people who were given the control group were 10 times more likely to have anosmia after 3 months, than those who had taken the supplements.
• The study concluded that combining PEA-LUT with smell training resulted in greater recovery of smell than olfactory training alone.
• A couple of things to note:
• All the participants were asked to do smell training for three months. This is still the only evidence-based treatment for post viral smell disorders and the supplements are not a substitute for smell training.
• The results discussed here are for the ultra micro-ionised PEA LUT only. The team have not carried out research on the PEA-LUT in capsule format and can therefore not vouch for the efficacy of capsules.
• You can read more about the study here: Effect of Ultra-Micronized Palmitoylethanolamide and Luteolin on Olfaction and Memory in Patients with Long COVID: Results of a Longitudinal Study 2022 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...
Videos:
Lost your sense of smell and taste? Our step-by-step guide on smell training youtu.be/Ib7wrxz0fuo?si=gkL...
• AbScent founder Chrissi Kelly gives a step-by-step guide to smell training when you have lost your sense of taste and smell.
• Smell training is actively sniffing the same four scents every day, spending around 20 seconds on each scent and really concentrating on what you’re doing. It’s that easy. It’s safe, it’s recommended by doctors, and anyone can do it.
Treatments for smell loss - the latest research from one of the UK's leading ENT specialists youtu.be/64ReEjnwGMI?si=gjV...
• Professor Hopkins offers hope of smell loss recovery even two years after Covid infection, talks about new research into smell disorders and warns against trying out remedies such as stellate ganglion blocks.
Bolt Notes:
• A lot of studies say to use these four odors (Rose, Eucalyptus, Lemon, and Cloves), but I am using these seven odors (Eucalyptus, Lemon, Lavender, Orange, Peppermint, Rose, Rosemary). I am using these seven odors because I already bought them for reproducing the “Overnight olfactory enrichment using an odorant diffuser improves memory and modifies the uncinate fasciculus in older adults” study from 2023 frontiersin.org/journals/ne... and per abscent.org.uk/ it really does not matter which odors I use.
• Even though I got a cheap diffuser, I switched over to using the smelling from the jars method. I think the diffuser method was created to try and make the process easier, not better.
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