Losing Your Sense of Smell: How Bad Is It?—A Comparative Study on the Personal Importance of Smell

Abstract

The hierarchical perspective on senses has relegated smell to the lowest rank in Western culture while granting vision superiority. Studies show that olfactory impairments, like vision and hearing impairments, reduce quality of life. Our study examines the perceived value of smell in a student population in comparison to hearing and vision, hypothesizing differences based on previous loss of smell (≥2 weeks) and gender. University students were enlisted in a survey comparing smell to vision, hearing, and forfeiting the senses for various commodities (phone, EUR 10,000, hair, and social media). A total of 200 participants completed the survey, with 52 reporting previous loss of smell and 148 reporting no history of smell loss. Overall, smell was the most frequently forfeited sense. While the sacrifice of hearing and vision remained consistent across various commodities, smell was notably forfeited more for certain items. When comparing groups with and without previous loss of smell, no significant differences were observed in forfeiting the senses across various commodities, except for hair. However, it is noteworthy that smell was forfeited more often for all commodities when considering percentages. Furthermore, females exhibited a greater willingness to sacrifice their sense of smell for USD 10,000 and hair. Smell is valued the lowest among the three senses when asked directly and compared to various commodities. There were no significant differences in its perceived value between those with and without previous loss of smell. Furthermore, females tend to value their sense of smell less than males, according to the surveyed commodities.