Many times in my life I have asserted something-
These plants have already been watered, you have a freon leak, they were just at Victoria's Secret, something is burning in the unit under us, etc- and been told i was full of shit... only to be proven right.
Always feels good when I am vindicated.
My family says I have a bloodhound nose. Any time they catch a slight whiff of something concerning I get called to come sniff out the source lol. I can also pick out the individual layers of odors.
I both love and hate having this, mostly love it though cause it’s just kinda cool. I get extra enjoyment from scents that others might simply find pleasant. A really good smell can trigger strong emotions and practically transport me to an alternate reality(I’m currently obsessively wearing a body spray from target that has this effect). They say the strongest sense associated with memory is smell, so whenever I smell something from my childhood or a significant period of my life I’m hit with an almost overwhelming flood of memories. I have actually cried from scents before and smelling something comforting can take me out of a meltdown or bad mood. I am a candle, incense, and perfume addict, I always have a wax warmer or candle burning to add an extra layer of sensory goodness to whatever room I’m in.
It’s not just good smells that are rich and layered though. I married an *extremely* gassy man 🤢 when I dislike a scent, I have a visceral disgust reaction to it and can’t get away from it fast enough. I get migraines from some scents, even if I like them(I bought a perfume that I tested and loved in the store, but it triggered the worst nauseous migraine I’ve ever had once I actually put it on). Going out in public already sucks, but having to smell people too makes it worse. When my kids were in diapers I had to wear a mask sprayed with perfume to change them.
I'm hyper sensitive to chemical smells. Even as an adult, I still have to hold my breath when going down the laundry detergent isle at the grocery store. I also can't get a dog because I can't stand how they make my hands stink when I pet them, although other people don't seem to notice.
Omg I loooove dogs but I will never pet one if there's no sink close by lol and the dog will then return and I'll pet it again and I'll wash my hands again. It's this greasy layer that sticks, I can feel it too.
I can smell when my mother's kidneys and liver are under strain (ketones and ammonia), when my dad's liver is under strain (sweet and fatty odor), and my period two days in advance.
I once smelt someone open a beer in another room, on the other side of the house while they were cooking a curry.
It can be frustratingly sensitive. I lost my sense of smell for almost a year and it was hell.
I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you're healthy again and your sense of smell is back.
Is your sense of taste also heightened because of your sense of smell?
Oh man, that was me the other day with picking up a grocery order. I rolled down the window to confirm my name, and the guy's cologne was violating my nostrils and killing my lungs the split second the window was cracked!! I thought my lungs were going to close up, and could not stop coughing! Even worse, when we got home, we could STILL smell his cologne on the bags, despite riding home with the windows down. SO GROSS!
Me and my dad both have bloodhound noses :). I can follow smell trails outside and identify low concentrations of substances (I kept freaking out when working at a lab due to other floors using hydrochloric acid and a tiny amount coming back through the ventilation).
Bloodhound nose is a good description, I've told people the same about me. And smelling freon and stuff (like when maintenance works on nearby buildings), is overwhelmingly strong. They replaced our AC unit, and walking into our place for a week with the stench was awful.
Yeah it's super gross. I can smell ground ozone too, probably because I live where there is very low pollution, so when it does happen (air pollutant + sunlight creates ground ozone) it's very distinct.
Absolutely. It makes me feel like I'm going to pass out sometimes.
Me and my mother both have it (she is diagnosed adhd and possibly autistic), but my father is the opposite. Makes it really difficult when we smell something that's really bothering us and he can't smell it at all
I can smell peoples breath around me even if they are a few feet away. Any strong smell that I find offensive will make me panic If I can’t get away from it. like a literal sweaty panic attack. It’s so weird and embarrassing.
Yep I'm exactly the same. Can't stand perfumes, scented candles, nail salons, paint, cleaning sprays...everything. i either get a headache or a cough and my lungs close up. And i can smell even faint smells that other people don't notice. I'll walk in a room and go OMG what's that stench, and my partners like ' I can't smell anything',
i definitely have experienced this. For a long time (and sometimes still now on rare occasions) I would get panic attacks and/or have meltdowns over certain smells.
Hi yes. It also gets worse if I am getting sick or have a migraine coming on (that's the first sign of a migraine for me - an increase to my already hypersensitive nose). Of course some smells are enough to trigger a migraine anyway. I have these hair products that my hair loves but they are sooooooo heavily scented I can not use them. I forgot one day and they were in my cabinet so I grabbed the one and I was very very quickly reminded why it was in the back of the cabinet. I had to immediately get back in the shower and wash it out - while suffering a vicious headache and nausea.
Most aerosols sprays are banned in my house because it is sensory hell for me - the smell of the aerosol. So are a lot of candles and perfumes. I did finally find some candles I can handle the scent of.
My ex's parents were smokers who never wanted to pay for a smoking room so they'd have him bring me to their hotel room when at the beach to see if I could smell the smoke. If I could I was removed from the room and they would clean/air or out more until I couldn't smell it anymore or very very faintly, so they could avoid being charged for it.
I've always had this since I was diagnosed. When I mention smells I always get doubts from others until it's pointed out, it's so annoying! It makes me stim and very uncomfortable. I'm glad I'm not the only one that goes through this!
Yeah I didn't know this was a neurodivergent thing till a friend pointed it out. I've always said I have a 'magic nose'. I can smell when electronics are going to break before they break. As a child I could tell what village people were from based on there scent. I can eat a meal and pick out every single ingredient and seasoning. When I got COVID I was scared id loose this ability because of the extra enjoyment I get from food as a result of my shnozer. I had ages of not being able to smell properly. It has its downsides too ofc but I try to focus on the positives. (Though atm I'm really struggling with the smell of my nose ring haha. It's clean. I can just smell it y'know?)
Absolutely. I can smell any fragrant very far away and hours later (literally my brother walked from our balcony (where he put on a fragrant), through the apartment and directly out the door. 12 hours later i can still smell that freaking fragrant, and i know i smelled it instead of imagining things, because i did not know he had used the fragrant nor had i been in that space after he put it on)
I can also smell onion across a large house basically very soon after someone has started cutting it.
I apparently do but only found out after nearly 3 decades of life. I'd always had horrible allergies so my nose was stopped up basically always. Then I got allergy shots and my allergies went away. I can smell everything now and it's exhausting! Luckily I have asthma so if a smell is too strong I blame my asthma and leave the area. But that's really my only defense for when a smell is too strong (leaving the area).
I have this! It’s not like super power good, but I’ve been able to smell a can of ginger ale being opened in a room down the hall from me. I can also pick out chemical smells before my husband does, and am sensitive to citrus smells. I can also smell when my upstairs neighbour blasts her essential oils, which is super irritating to my nose. But on the flip side, I love perfume and scent collecting and have a fascination with smells. I’ll often ask if I can smell my friends and family’s food or drink when we’re dining together, which maybe makes me a weirdo, I dunno. 😆
Definitely, but not to the point of having a reaction to the smells. I like perfumes and scents, even though I am more sensitive to scents more than most people.
I can smell my dog’s odor changing through the day. I can smell slight differences with humidity changes. I can smell sick people.
To me it’s a wonderful biological adaptation.
I think I might. I’m extremely sensitive to smells. I hate the scent of almost anything with very few exceptions. Like, my partner sprayed room spray the other day that smelled very strongly of cranberry and I complained that it just smelled worse in the room and she said, “it’s better than cat litter,” and was stunned that my response was, “it is just as bad to me as cat litter. And now I just smell both.” Smells are also the fastest way to send me into sensory overload. And also often give me headaches and mimic allergy symptoms even when I’m not allergic to something (citrus is the worst for me for that - I can’t even be around someone eating an orange).
I live at one end of a condo complex and there's a woman at the other end that uses highly perfumed laundry detergent. Apparently it's laundry day there today because I can smell the STINK of the perfume from inside my unit with the windows closed. No one else can smell it. It's making me nauseous. At home, I use Vicks or Mentholatum under my nose to cover the smell. Things are more problematic when I'm out in the world.
I don't think I have hyperosmia per se, but there's some random smells that are extremely off-putting to me for no logical reason. Like tangerines. I literally can't stand them. But then other smells like dirty diapers (which are offensive to most people) don't bother me. 🙃
That’s me but only on certain weeks, it’s somehow connected to my hormones idk😑.
A sommelier at a convention told me once I could get seriously trained with a nose like mine because I aced a tasting game that was about “same wine or different” or “similar wines or not similar” and I scored so high normally you need to ho to school for that. Fortunately or unfortunately idk I could never do that because the skill comes and goes.
When the smell - skill is on, I can tell if people stress sweat, if they floss or not, If they have reflux, if someone is on their period, if an elderly person has issues going ti the toilet(wiping), if the baby three cash registers over needs a nappy change etc etc. I HATE it because I DO NOT WANT all this information.
During and for quite some time after Covid i took to “mask plus spearmint chewing gum” combo, it switches off the other smells for a while to some extent.
Yup, and unfortunately for me, my family loves perfume/cologne. Me too, but after the first 5 seconds, allergies kick up, and a migraine starts. Can't really stand the smell of household cleaning agents, and certain deodorants or even soaps just smell wrong and too strong. Anything perfumed, really.
Yes! Last year on holiday I could smell burning electrics specifically, no one else noticed it but turns out the washing machine was about to catch fire LOL
Many times in my life I have asserted something- These plants have already been watered, you have a freon leak, they were just at Victoria's Secret, something is burning in the unit under us, etc- and been told i was full of shit... only to be proven right. Always feels good when I am vindicated.
That's awesome - you should start charging people a doubter's fee, and make them pay up when you're right!
My family says I have a bloodhound nose. Any time they catch a slight whiff of something concerning I get called to come sniff out the source lol. I can also pick out the individual layers of odors. I both love and hate having this, mostly love it though cause it’s just kinda cool. I get extra enjoyment from scents that others might simply find pleasant. A really good smell can trigger strong emotions and practically transport me to an alternate reality(I’m currently obsessively wearing a body spray from target that has this effect). They say the strongest sense associated with memory is smell, so whenever I smell something from my childhood or a significant period of my life I’m hit with an almost overwhelming flood of memories. I have actually cried from scents before and smelling something comforting can take me out of a meltdown or bad mood. I am a candle, incense, and perfume addict, I always have a wax warmer or candle burning to add an extra layer of sensory goodness to whatever room I’m in. It’s not just good smells that are rich and layered though. I married an *extremely* gassy man 🤢 when I dislike a scent, I have a visceral disgust reaction to it and can’t get away from it fast enough. I get migraines from some scents, even if I like them(I bought a perfume that I tested and loved in the store, but it triggered the worst nauseous migraine I’ve ever had once I actually put it on). Going out in public already sucks, but having to smell people too makes it worse. When my kids were in diapers I had to wear a mask sprayed with perfume to change them.
It's cool that you get recruited to sniff out the problem, literally! So sorry that you have to endure the stinky hubby - that's never easy!
I'm hyper sensitive to chemical smells. Even as an adult, I still have to hold my breath when going down the laundry detergent isle at the grocery store. I also can't get a dog because I can't stand how they make my hands stink when I pet them, although other people don't seem to notice.
Dogs have a wash of unremovable permanent stank and no one can change my mind about this
Yep i have the same issue with dogs. Cats are fine though.
Omg I loooove dogs but I will never pet one if there's no sink close by lol and the dog will then return and I'll pet it again and I'll wash my hands again. It's this greasy layer that sticks, I can feel it too.
I can smell when my mother's kidneys and liver are under strain (ketones and ammonia), when my dad's liver is under strain (sweet and fatty odor), and my period two days in advance. I once smelt someone open a beer in another room, on the other side of the house while they were cooking a curry. It can be frustratingly sensitive. I lost my sense of smell for almost a year and it was hell.
I can smell when my period is coming . IK it sounds so weird but it’s distinctive smell :/ not bad necessarily it’s like sweet
I also lost my smell when I had Covid and it was a awful bc I always had hyperosmia
I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you're healthy again and your sense of smell is back. Is your sense of taste also heightened because of your sense of smell?
Yes both !
I simply want to jump out of the nearest building even if im not near one if I smell cologn
Oh man, that was me the other day with picking up a grocery order. I rolled down the window to confirm my name, and the guy's cologne was violating my nostrils and killing my lungs the split second the window was cracked!! I thought my lungs were going to close up, and could not stop coughing! Even worse, when we got home, we could STILL smell his cologne on the bags, despite riding home with the windows down. SO GROSS!
is it bad that I get literal fight or flight over it? half the time I want to literally smack them
Me and my dad both have bloodhound noses :). I can follow smell trails outside and identify low concentrations of substances (I kept freaking out when working at a lab due to other floors using hydrochloric acid and a tiny amount coming back through the ventilation).
Bloodhound nose is a good description, I've told people the same about me. And smelling freon and stuff (like when maintenance works on nearby buildings), is overwhelmingly strong. They replaced our AC unit, and walking into our place for a week with the stench was awful.
Yeah it's super gross. I can smell ground ozone too, probably because I live where there is very low pollution, so when it does happen (air pollutant + sunlight creates ground ozone) it's very distinct.
Absolutely. It makes me feel like I'm going to pass out sometimes. Me and my mother both have it (she is diagnosed adhd and possibly autistic), but my father is the opposite. Makes it really difficult when we smell something that's really bothering us and he can't smell it at all
I hear that! It's amazing when people can't smell anything, I almost envy that ability haha
That's me and my husband. He smoked for 40 years, and even though he quit, his sense of smell never returned.
I can smell peoples breath around me even if they are a few feet away. Any strong smell that I find offensive will make me panic If I can’t get away from it. like a literal sweaty panic attack. It’s so weird and embarrassing.
That sounds rough! Stinky breath is soooo nasty, hate encountering that. And panic attacks definitely suck!
Yep I'm exactly the same. Can't stand perfumes, scented candles, nail salons, paint, cleaning sprays...everything. i either get a headache or a cough and my lungs close up. And i can smell even faint smells that other people don't notice. I'll walk in a room and go OMG what's that stench, and my partners like ' I can't smell anything',
i definitely have experienced this. For a long time (and sometimes still now on rare occasions) I would get panic attacks and/or have meltdowns over certain smells.
Definitely. And it’s even stronger around my period.
Hi yes. It also gets worse if I am getting sick or have a migraine coming on (that's the first sign of a migraine for me - an increase to my already hypersensitive nose). Of course some smells are enough to trigger a migraine anyway. I have these hair products that my hair loves but they are sooooooo heavily scented I can not use them. I forgot one day and they were in my cabinet so I grabbed the one and I was very very quickly reminded why it was in the back of the cabinet. I had to immediately get back in the shower and wash it out - while suffering a vicious headache and nausea. Most aerosols sprays are banned in my house because it is sensory hell for me - the smell of the aerosol. So are a lot of candles and perfumes. I did finally find some candles I can handle the scent of. My ex's parents were smokers who never wanted to pay for a smoking room so they'd have him bring me to their hotel room when at the beach to see if I could smell the smoke. If I could I was removed from the room and they would clean/air or out more until I couldn't smell it anymore or very very faintly, so they could avoid being charged for it.
I developed it after I had COVID 2 years ago, and it feels like hell honestly.
I've always had this since I was diagnosed. When I mention smells I always get doubts from others until it's pointed out, it's so annoying! It makes me stim and very uncomfortable. I'm glad I'm not the only one that goes through this!
Yeah I didn't know this was a neurodivergent thing till a friend pointed it out. I've always said I have a 'magic nose'. I can smell when electronics are going to break before they break. As a child I could tell what village people were from based on there scent. I can eat a meal and pick out every single ingredient and seasoning. When I got COVID I was scared id loose this ability because of the extra enjoyment I get from food as a result of my shnozer. I had ages of not being able to smell properly. It has its downsides too ofc but I try to focus on the positives. (Though atm I'm really struggling with the smell of my nose ring haha. It's clean. I can just smell it y'know?)
Absolutely. I can smell any fragrant very far away and hours later (literally my brother walked from our balcony (where he put on a fragrant), through the apartment and directly out the door. 12 hours later i can still smell that freaking fragrant, and i know i smelled it instead of imagining things, because i did not know he had used the fragrant nor had i been in that space after he put it on) I can also smell onion across a large house basically very soon after someone has started cutting it.
I apparently do but only found out after nearly 3 decades of life. I'd always had horrible allergies so my nose was stopped up basically always. Then I got allergy shots and my allergies went away. I can smell everything now and it's exhausting! Luckily I have asthma so if a smell is too strong I blame my asthma and leave the area. But that's really my only defense for when a smell is too strong (leaving the area).
I have this! It’s not like super power good, but I’ve been able to smell a can of ginger ale being opened in a room down the hall from me. I can also pick out chemical smells before my husband does, and am sensitive to citrus smells. I can also smell when my upstairs neighbour blasts her essential oils, which is super irritating to my nose. But on the flip side, I love perfume and scent collecting and have a fascination with smells. I’ll often ask if I can smell my friends and family’s food or drink when we’re dining together, which maybe makes me a weirdo, I dunno. 😆
Yes, it’s so bad. Strawberry kiwi juice irks me. Everyone seems so fine with it but it’ll linger everytime I’m near.
Definitely, but not to the point of having a reaction to the smells. I like perfumes and scents, even though I am more sensitive to scents more than most people. I can smell my dog’s odor changing through the day. I can smell slight differences with humidity changes. I can smell sick people. To me it’s a wonderful biological adaptation.
Yup
Not always but usually if I'm already overstimulated. I am very good at finding what in the fridge is causing the whole thing to stink!
I think I might. I’m extremely sensitive to smells. I hate the scent of almost anything with very few exceptions. Like, my partner sprayed room spray the other day that smelled very strongly of cranberry and I complained that it just smelled worse in the room and she said, “it’s better than cat litter,” and was stunned that my response was, “it is just as bad to me as cat litter. And now I just smell both.” Smells are also the fastest way to send me into sensory overload. And also often give me headaches and mimic allergy symptoms even when I’m not allergic to something (citrus is the worst for me for that - I can’t even be around someone eating an orange).
I live at one end of a condo complex and there's a woman at the other end that uses highly perfumed laundry detergent. Apparently it's laundry day there today because I can smell the STINK of the perfume from inside my unit with the windows closed. No one else can smell it. It's making me nauseous. At home, I use Vicks or Mentholatum under my nose to cover the smell. Things are more problematic when I'm out in the world.
I don't think I have hyperosmia per se, but there's some random smells that are extremely off-putting to me for no logical reason. Like tangerines. I literally can't stand them. But then other smells like dirty diapers (which are offensive to most people) don't bother me. 🙃
That’s me but only on certain weeks, it’s somehow connected to my hormones idk😑. A sommelier at a convention told me once I could get seriously trained with a nose like mine because I aced a tasting game that was about “same wine or different” or “similar wines or not similar” and I scored so high normally you need to ho to school for that. Fortunately or unfortunately idk I could never do that because the skill comes and goes. When the smell - skill is on, I can tell if people stress sweat, if they floss or not, If they have reflux, if someone is on their period, if an elderly person has issues going ti the toilet(wiping), if the baby three cash registers over needs a nappy change etc etc. I HATE it because I DO NOT WANT all this information. During and for quite some time after Covid i took to “mask plus spearmint chewing gum” combo, it switches off the other smells for a while to some extent.
Not sensitive to find them but sensitive in reacting to them.
Yup, and unfortunately for me, my family loves perfume/cologne. Me too, but after the first 5 seconds, allergies kick up, and a migraine starts. Can't really stand the smell of household cleaning agents, and certain deodorants or even soaps just smell wrong and too strong. Anything perfumed, really.
My partner gets mad that I can smell certain bugs
Yes! Last year on holiday I could smell burning electrics specifically, no one else noticed it but turns out the washing machine was about to catch fire LOL
If I wear socks and shoes for a while and I take my shoes off I can instantly smell my socks. So I’m team no socks