Phantosmia, which is an olfactory hallucination, sometimes occurs with anxiety. It can cause you to smell something that isn't there, or rather, a neutral smell becomes unpleasant.
Conclusions: Stroke, angina, congestive heart failure, well-managed high blood pressure, and well-managed high cholesterol are associated with phantom odor perception. Vascular or metabolic conditions or their treatments may contribute to reporting of phantom odor perception.
For one thing, you need to be awake to smell smoke or anything else. Only a very small percentage of humans can smell while sleeping lightly, and even they can't smell anything while deeply asleep. No one can. So if you're thinking you don't need a smoke alarm because the smell will wake you up, think again.
A myriad of etiologies exists for phantosmia. However, idiopathic is the most common. Burnt smell is the most commonly reported smell associated with phantosmia, but other smells have been reported, such as feces, rotten, musty, gas, sweet, metallic, or fruity.
a brain tumour in the temporal lobe could lead to sensations of strange smells (as well as other symptoms, such as, difficulty with hearing, speaking and memory loss)
Olfactory neuroblastoma, or esthesioneuroblastoma, is a tumor that grows in the nasal cavity. The nasal cavity has nerves and other tissue that are responsible for the sense of smell. This kind of tumor begins in the nasal cavity and can grow into the nearby eyes and brain.
Researchers suggest that a “miswiring” of the brain causes phantom smells in people with anxiety. Phantosmia may occur due to problems in the nose or olfactory receptors. In such cases, the smell may often be perceived through one nostril rather than both.
Often odors can linger on clothing, carpet, furniture, automobile seats, drapery etc. Some brain tumors can cause olfactory (smell) delusions or hallucinations and these can be manifest as almost any odor. Having said that, they are extremely rare.
Drug reaction: A person may need to stop taking the drug that may be causing the phantom smell. Potential medications that may cause phantosmia include antidepressants and antibiotics. However, a person should not stop taking such medications without first consulting with their doctor.
Observation: About one-third of individuals with phantosmia will experience symptom improvement over time. Medications: Antipsychotics, antimigraine medicine, and antiseizure drugs can all be used to treat phantosmia. Surgery: Olfactory mucosa excision surgery may relieve phantosmia while preserving olfactory function.
If the smell of smoke occurs suddenly and continues for less than a few minutes, the site of origin is likely the smell region of the inner temporal lobe of the brain, called the uncus. The source could be an abnormal electrical discharge or "firing" in the brain (a seizure).
In COVID-19 patients, the prevalence of phantosmia also fluctuates between studies, from 10% [15] to 34% when OD is still present up to 11 months after the acute phase of the disease [11].
Temporal Lobe Seizures, Epilepsy, and Parkinson's Disease
With temporal lobe issues and epilepsy, both involve seizures that can prompt phantom smells, most commonly the scent of burning rubber. There's also loss of smell, Dr.
A sense of change
Brain tumors can cause seizures, but not just the types that cause you to lose consciousness and convulse. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, some seizures can cause sensory changes: sensation, vision, smell, hearing, and even taste.
Some people with brain tumors experience general symptoms like headaches, seizures, and fatigue. Other symptoms can be more specific to the location of the tumor in the brain.
If you are smelling a weird cigarette smell but don't smoke, it may be your HVAC system. An HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system can hang onto cigarette smell and smoke for a long time.
Several conditions may cause a bad smell in the nose, including sinusitis, tooth/ mouth infections, dry mouth, some medications, some foods/drinks, and olfactory damage.
Smelling things that aren't there is called phantosmia. It can be unpleasant and affect how things taste. But it isn't usually serious and may go away by itself in a few weeks or months. See your GP if the strange smell doesn't go away in a few weeks.
Any one or combination of stress and anxiety factors, can cause phantom smells, which can be intermittent or persist for as long as the body is hyperstimulated.
Hallucinations of some kind are thought to occur in about 30%–40% of Parkinson's patients, with olfactory hallucinations, or the detection of phantom smells that are not really there, occurring in somewhere between 2.1%-11% of patients.