Up to one in three people who had Covid are still experiencing a loss of taste or smell 12 weeks after contracting the virus, reveals a new study. Among the 4,702 people studied, 31.2 per cent reported suffering from a reduced sense of taste at least 12 weeks after being infected.
Similarly, 29.9 per cent reported their sense of smell was still lower than normal after 12 weeks. Worse still, the study revealed that 12.2 per cent had a total loss of smell and 11.7 per cent lost their taste completely.
Professor Shahina Pardhan, director of the Vision and Eye Research Institute in Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, and lead author, said: “Persistent changes in taste and smell have manifested as symptoms of long Covid. These are generally associated with decreases in quality of life, so it is vital that we understand these changes in patients’ smell and taste to help medical professionals advise or manage patients appropriately."
According to the Office of National Statistics, as of July 31st, around two million people in the UK were believed to be suffering from long Covid. Along with this, some people reported having tinnitus, blurred vision or dry eyes.
Professor Pardhan said: “Our results also show an elevated prevalence of persistent blurred vision and hearing-related symptoms after three months. Future research is required to understand why this is the case and so that healthcare providers can provide the right kind of care for people suffering from various sensory losses due to Covid-19."
Dr Mike Trott, a visiting fellow at Anglia Ruskin University, and lead author, said: "Knowing the prevalence of changes in sensory symptoms post-Covid is essential to aiding our understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease, especially as our understanding of long Covid is in its infancy.”
Long Covid affects around 14 per cent of people who test positive for COVID-19. This study was published in the journal, Frontiers in Medicine.
