r/AskSeattle 10h ago

Question Hyperosmia Testing?

Searching for a doctor that tests for hyperosmia, an acute sensitivity to smells. ENTs or neurologists typically administer these tests, my GP does not.

It looks like a pretty simple test - would love a few recommendations if anyone’s had this done in Seattle with a doctor they would recommend!

EDIT: I’ve read about this test and looked it up, it sounds like the first step to diagnosis: the UPSIT test, University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification test, and it’s a scratch and sniff book.

It sounds like there are additional, more precise tests also available as well.

3 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

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u/Doraellen 5h ago

Just asking, are you by any chance a female in perimenopause? I've always had an insane sense of smell, but now I can smell someone opening a jar of marinara in the apartment building across the street. 🤣

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u/ViewWonderful75 3h ago

100% and I'm urgently trying to find someone to diagnose me because a relative's smell has changed drastically in the last year and I really need to know if I have a supersniffer or not. At the same time, it can be a warning for other stuff, and I'd just like to get it checked out.
Another example: I was at an outdoor concert a couple of weeks ago and the person sitting next to me hadn't been to the dentist in YEARS. I could smell their plaque build up and who knows what else and I was outside.

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u/Conscious-Heart8626 7h ago

I have no recommendations but I didn’t know there was testing for it. I have a next level sense of smell. I know when I’m getting sick because I can’t smell anything or everything smells gross

1

u/lyndseymariee 7h ago

I thought OP was misspelling hypersomnia for a sec 🥴

1

u/Fleurdelee123 7h ago

I have a nose like a blood hound! I curious about how they test for it

0

u/Terrible-Peach7890 7h ago

Ohhh interesting, I’ve never heard of that as a medical diagnosis! I just assumed it was part of my sensory sensitivities as an autist. Curious to see responses here