The weird connection between pain and smell - and how people lose both
Utterly fascinating. I wonder if if goes the “other” way at all, like maybe people with chronic pain disorders and heightened sense of smell? Just a thought.
I wonder if this implies that that the body interprets smell as a pain… hmm
It does indeed - I have had a damaged nerve in my face for many years now and when that hits me with occasional bouts of great pain, I do find I become very sensitive to smell - and not in a good way.
I’ve also noted similar reports from migraine sufferers (along with visual distortion) and a friend’s perception of taste and smell changed dramatically after she sustained a brain injury in a car accident - Sensitivity increased significantly to the point that she cannot tolerate the foods and scents she used to like and now exists in as bland a world as she can manage. Been this way for about eight years now. 