What Scent is That?
Smelling as a Highly Sensitive Individual
No Smell and No Taste
Smell and Taste as a Highly Sensitive Individual
By Troy Alan Cox
In the six-month-long Veterans Administration evaluation process to certify my father for assistance with all the medical needs that began to mount after his diagnosis of lung cancer, which was connected to his exposure to Agent Orange, he was tested for both smell and taste.
We already knew he had no sense of smell, which was great since he and I shared our never-ending problems with gas, or “gas leaks,” as he called it. Not so great when you are a master gardener and grow extensive flower beds everywhere you live. His specialty was roses. Everywhere we lived, he grew rose bushes.
One of his favorite stories was from when we were a young family in Southern California on Miramar Naval Base. He was tired of the neighbors cutting behind our double-wide trailer and wearing down a path in the grass, so he planted a whole row of big rose bushes.
“Let me see them walk through our yard now,” he laughed at his cleverness.
Roses, geraniums, iris, mums, and so many other flowers I could never name were growing in all five states and Japan. He had such a great green thumb and was always willing to share his secrets for having a thriving garden. The vegetables he grew everywhere kept us fed, and I am so glad I was raised on fresh vegetables and fruit.
We went to the doctor for the V.A. knowing he would probably not be able to pass the olfactory test, and we were right. We had believed for years that he had lost his sense of smell after serving on the aircraft carrier, from all the jet fuel he was exposed to. As she handed him vial after vial filled with all types of scents, I started getting a little nauseous.
Another thing we had in common was vertigo. I get triggered when I move suddenly or fall suddenly backward. I also get vertigo when there are too many overpowering smells, or if I drink alcohol. I have always been grateful about the alcohol part because it is such a waste of money, time, and energy, and it kills so many brain cells.
However, I love essential oils and have used them many times in classes for their neurological and mental benefits. But if there are too many strong scents at the same time, it is as if my mind cannot lock onto one scent, and they overwhelm my sense of balance.
The big surprise came when they started administering the taste detection test. I never knew that he could not taste different flavors. From my Ayurveda training, I knew about the effect of getting all six tastes into a diet and how that could influence my clients’ moods, habits, cravings, and weight management.
It was with a heavy heart that we left that test. After all the little slips of paper were used up, the only tastes that registered to my dad were extreme salt and sweet. That meant all the times he told me how delicious my cooking was after we moved in together, he was being nice to me to make me feel good.
I cried a little because smell affects taste, and taste affects how we experience food, pleasure, memory, and comfort. This also meant that my father could not smell, could barely taste, was losing his hearing significantly, and his vision was long gone because of his rare eye condition.
I could not imagine the psychological effect losing your senses must have on someone. My father, being the kind and considerate person he was, had never complained or even hinted that he had so little sensory input. I remembered all the times we tried to see if he could smell something strong by holding it up to his nose and asking if he could smell it, then waiting for a glimmer of recognition.
Can you imagine losing just one of your sensory inputs?
In yoga, reducing sensory stimulation is taught as a great tool to overcome distractions and reactions. This is called Pratyahara, which I will talk about in my final blog in the series, The Senses of a Highly Sensitive Person.
What Is That Scent?
I have long used essential oils for myself to help with my panic attacks and anxiety. Lavender has literally been all over every part of me. Lavender Epsom salt baths were my remedy after my neck injury. I love peppermint if I need a pick-me-up and do not want any caffeine. Rosemary is heavenly to my senses and an essential part of my cooking.
I am not that big of a blend fan unless it is made for me specifically. My go-to for meditation and grounding is frankincense and myrrh. I love them both and wear them almost daily. Give me a good vetiver when I am feeling a little flirty and fun.
I used oils all the time while teaching my classes until one day I heard, “What is that scent?” from a student.
It was a Young Living Thieves blend, which has a distinct, rich, and warm aroma. It combines the sweet, earthy spice of cinnamon with the sharp, medicinal notes of clove and eucalyptus, balanced by the bright, zesty scent of lemon and herbal rosemary.
My client Carol used it all the time and even cleaned her house with it. The cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, and rosemary were an instant hit with me, and I did not usually use blended scents. I started using it all the time to clean Sun Salute Yoga Center, my yoga studio.
Until that one student.
After I introduced her to the blend, she became nauseous. I think it was the clove and cinnamon, which can be overwhelming to some, especially since I was using it on almost every surface at the studio through the cleaning products.
It was the first indication to me that we all perceive scent differently.
My Dad’s Mother
Rose oil and rose water were my grandmother Cova’s favorites. I still get a memory hit when I smell pure rose oil. I am twelve or so, standing in her house again in Kansas. It was my first safe space. She was so energetic, like a 4’11” hummingbird. Pine wood paneling lined her dining room and living room. It gave the house a warmth. She was the original storyteller. Every time I smell rose oil, I am back in that house.
The most difficult part of scent for me as an HSP is that I taste the scent. That is okay for some things, but not others. For example, rosemary infiltrates my taste buds, and I begin to salivate for pizza and pasta. Lavender, after I warm it on my wrists and take a few deep inhales with my hands forming a cupping shape, washes over me and into me. I feel a purple haze of deep relaxation come over me that can last for hours in my skin, sinuses, taste buds, and vascular system.
Porta-potties are not much fun when I exit and the smell is on my tongue. Halitosis is another challenge, and I have to focus hard on not being rude and stepping a few feet back. I can taste that too.
Urine has been the biggest challenge. For a while, everything in the house seemed to be soaked in urine, and I could not get it out of my nostrils or mouth. One whiff, and I wanted to run to my closed-door bedroom and strip off all my clothes. I used so many oils to get me through the dementia years.
One whiff of vomit, and I am vomiting too.
What scent do you enjoy?
Which one do you avoid?
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