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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

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01-07-2014 | Rhinology

Do the blinds smell better?

Authors: Jan Christoffer Luers, Stefanie Mikolajczak, Moritz Hahn, Claus Wittekindt, Dirk Beutner, Karl-Bernd Hüttenbrink, Michael Damm

Published in: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology | Issue 7/2014

Abstract

If people lose a sense organ, there is thought to be an increase in the remaining sensory functions. Previous studies showed ambiguous results on this topic. In a prospective matched pair case-control study on 46 blind and 46 normal-sighted subjects, the olfactory performance was examined using the Sniffin’ Sticks Test [threshold-discrimination-identification (TDI) test], determining the olfactory threshold, the identification and the discrimination performance. There was no significant difference between the groups. Neither the overall olfactory performance (TDI score) nor any of its subtests did correlate with the vision or with the duration of blindness. The study could not detect any superior smell abilities of blind subjects as compared to sighted subjects.

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Title: Do the blinds smell better?
Authors: Jan Christoffer Luers
Stefanie Mikolajczak
Moritz Hahn
Claus Wittekindt
Dirk Beutner
Karl-Bernd Hüttenbrink
Michael Damm
Publication date: 01-07-2014
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology / Issue 7/2014
Print ISSN: 0937-4477
Electronic ISSN: 1434-4726
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-013-2816-2

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Do the blinds smell better?

Abstract

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Abstract

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