Призрачные запахи: ученые выяснили, почему мы их чувствуем

Sometimes there are situations that the person suddenly feels some smell, which at the moment just can't be. Surrounding this smell can not hear. It is not necessary in such a situation to worry about, because such a phenomenon is called – the ghostly smell. After the study, the experts called the phenomenon phantosmia.

Scientists conducted a study which showed that the perception of the phantom odor is a reality. This can be seen not so often, but still there are such people. Of the 7,000 people who took part in the study, 6,5% answered that they regularly face in their life with the appearance of strange smells. Typically, these smells are quite unpleasant, or may have a mild spicy touch.

In 2017, the journal Chemical Senses published an article by Swedish researchers, who found that among Swedes aged 60 to 90 years a non-existent odors feel of 4.9%, and women feel them more often than men.

And in September 2018 JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery publishes another article on the same subject, only now the tendency to smell phantom odors were counted among residents of the United States. It turned out that more than 7300 among study participants older than 40 years the smells felt the 6.5% two-thirds of them were women.

Where does this false sense of smell, it is not clear – apparently, olfactory sensors we have in the nose for some reason, working too actively. The authors note that the phantom smells often feel those who have in the past been serious head trauma, and those who do not feel very good. Perhaps smells are ghosts in the future it will be possible to use in the diagnosis of certain diseases. Moreover, it is worth noting that we are talking about unpleasant smells – apparently, when one feels a pleasant smell, then, in General, no matter whether it exists really or not.

The results of the study also showed that each person may differently perceive these odors. They can be associated either with a too highly developed sense of smell, or some malfunction of the brain and those parts that are responsible for detecting odors. Scientists also found out that this is more common among women. The reasons can be attributed to a constant dry mouth, or head injury.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»