Link: https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1ttnzxd/tifu_by_not_having_a_sense_of_smell_for_the_last/

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Selkie_Love on 2026-06-01 10:23:57+00:00.

I've been around Reddit awhile. I've seen some of the epic length TIFU's. I always thought 'this wouldn't happen to me'.

Well. I am here to eat crow and smell flowers. BECAUSE I CAN ACTUALLY SMELL THEM!!

I was a sniffler as a kid. Which is why this is a TIFU.

I never really had a good sense of smell. People would need to point things out to me. I just didn't notice them. Yeah, flowers smelled like something when I stuck my nose in them and inhaled deeply, and I could smell garlic on a kiss. Really basic stuff with the strongest of smells.

I kept hearing how humans had a poor sense of smell, and figured what I was smelling was normal.

Eventually, I worked out that my sense of smell was diminished, and went to the doctor to get it checked out. He confirmed I did have a sense of smell, just a poor one, but since I was smelling? It wasn't actually an issue.

I figured there was no sense in crying over spilt milk. I wasn't going to smell things nearly as well as everyone else, but why let it be a problem? I accepted my sense of smell was shit, and moved on with my life. With the occasional frustrated comment from my wife. ("What do you mean, you can't smell that!?")

Plus, there were SOME benefits. Gross jobs weren't as gross. I couldn't tell the difference between 'fancy' versions of food and the 'basic' stuff. Hey, silver linings everywhere, right?

Then I got sick.

Not TERRIBLY sick, but it was a bad, bad viral cough that I couldn't shake. Then I got a secondary bacterial infection, and had to go to the doctor. She prescribed me penicillin for the bacterial infection... and while we're at it, a nasal steroid.

That steroid has been life-changing. I sprayed it, and I could FEEL my sinuses expand. It hurt, and I swear I could feel air in my forehead. Only on one side.

All this to say - I CAN SMELL STUFF NOW!

It's WILD. There's a whole world of scents and other stuff out there that I was completely missing!

Best we can tell, I sniffed so much as a kid that I completely packed my sinuses, or otherwise made them unhappy. Apply nasal steroid to the problem, they opened back up, and I can SMELL!

I'd say more on the topic, but I want to keep exploring stuff. Like... garlic smells REALLY strong, even in the kitchen. Who would've thunk?

TL;DR: No sense of smell for 30 years, now I have one!