Many things cause loss of smell; aging is number one, but also brain injuries and loss of smell was a common complaint about COVID-19 infections. It's not a life-threatening condition, which may be why there are very few effective treatments.
Researchers from Korea have demonstrated a new therapy that may require no chemicals or surgery, just radio waves. They used them to directly target the part of our brain responsible for smell. Volunteers with a healthy sense of smell to sit while a small radio antenna was placed near their forehead. For five minutes, the antenna sent out radio waves which the authors say helped improve the smell-related nerves in the brain.
(a) Simulated 3D radiation pattern of the antenna on a 3D head model located between the eyebrows. (b) SAR simulation results at different power levels. (c) Changes in skin temperature over time during RF stimulation. 15 W power was used, with n = 5.
Before and after the short treatment, the authors tested how well the patient could smell very faint odors, like diluted alcohol or fruit scents, using the pen-shaped odor dispensers known as Sniffin’ Sticks. They also recorded the patients’ brain signals to see how active their smell nerves were. The team found that their method improved subjects’ sense of smell for over a week after just one treatment.
There are confounders. These were people with a normal sense of smell taking surveys after five minutes knowing they were getting radio wave treatment. The idea that the radio waves improved functioning of the olfactory bulb while not impacting other things will be met with skepticism, and brain images are as close to science as music therapy.
What would help is if individuals with olfactory dysfunction, such as anosmia (complete loss of smell) or hyposmia (reduced sense of smell), were able to take the studio without knowing why the radio signals were being sent, or even if they were in a placebo group where waves were not sent at all.
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