Ageusia is the loss of taste functions of the tongue,
particularly the inability to detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and
saltiness. This disorder can be triggered by many factors such as nerve damage
or vitamin deficiency. Ageusia is sometimes confused with anosmia – a loss of
the sense of smell.*
My sense of smell has become dulled over the years - I would
guess due to allergies. My mom's sense
of smell had been dulled as both of her parents were smokers. I would rather lose my sense of smell to
allergies than an example I learned about quite recently.
One of the science instructors in the school district was
telling about a classmate she had gone to school with. He was a jock that wanted to prove his
"macho-ness" by smelling an acid - a very foolish move on his part,
for when he inhaled, the acid burned the insides of each nostril and he hasn't
been able to smell since that time.
It's kind of cool to know that my loss of smell has a
scientific name.
* retrieved from wikipedia
