LOSS OF SENSE OF SMELL UNDERVALUED

The loss of the sense of smell is a massive disability that impacts on every day of a person's life, according to Professor Graham Bell of the University of New South Wales' Centre for ChemoSensory Research. Professor Bell also believes that the impact of the loss of olfaction is greatly underestimated by the health care professions and the courts.

"A lost sense of smell affects many of the usual activities of daily living, especially eating, as smell makes up much of the flavour of foods. Smell can also play a role in safety, smelling a gas leak or something burning can prevent a disaster. To undervalue the distress that this causes is a grave injustice to the people who are living with the problem," Professor Bell said.

"The Victorian government has recently adopted American guidelines that minimise the compensation given to those who have lost their sense of smell in traffic or industrial accidents. These guidelines are an attempt to stop people rorting the system through false claims, but it is at the expense of people who have a genuine problem," he said.

Professor Bell is working with Professor Peter Disler, from the University of Melbourne, to devise tests that can accurately measure a person's sense of smell. "Part of the problem is that the loss of smell is hard to diagnose and the clinical tests that are currently available are very poor, which allows people to manipulate the system. We are working to develop a reliable assessment so that people with a real disability can be properly compensated and those who are trying to cheat the system can be detected," he said.

According to Professor Bell, it is relatively easy to lose your sense of smell. "Even a small blow to the head has the potential to sever nerves from the brain to the nose," he said. "If this is due to a traffic accident or workplace injury the person deserves to be compensated because it will affect them every day for the rest of their lives."

CONTACT DETAILS: Professor Graham Bell, UNSW ChemoSensory Research Centre, tel. 9209 4083 or Victoria Collins, Public Affairs and Development, tel. 9385 3644.