A study from researchers in Korea has found that smell training can be of benefit to those recovering from surgery for sinus disease.
A major cause of smell dysfunction is chronic sinus disease (CRS – chronic rhinosinusitis). Benign growths (polyps) inside the nose block the pathway for air that is inhaled. Sometimes surgery is used to remove these polyps. The team from Konkuk University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea were interested in finding out whether the sense of smell could be further improved, after polyp removal, through the use of smell training.
Polypectomies can sometimes restore the sense of smell, but this is not always the case. Researchers created two groups of participants. The first group committed to 12 weeks of twice daily smell training. Then they had a control group who did not smell train. When the training time was over, they tested both groups, and compared the scores to those taken before the surgery.
Those who participated in smell training increased their smell test scores significantly. The control group did not fare as well. Both the smell training group and the control group were matched in terms of age, sex, and the severity of their disease. Everyone who took part in the study had the same potential for recovery.
This is a preliminary study but nonetheless is encouraging. The authors of this paper call for more research in this area.
Olfactory training assists in olfactory recovery after sinonasal surgery
Find the paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lio2.955
The paper is in preprint at the time this blog was published, June 2021.
