Does your CPAP mask dull the sense of smell

[mikael26288]

I have several smoke detectors throughout the house, but being 58 year old, my hearing has started going bad. The ones in the basement are the ones, I might have a problem hearing at night.

I was just wondering if you could still smell smoke and other scents while using the mask.

[PaulaO2]

There are doohickeys to signal a flashing light if a smoke detector goes off. Do a Google search for deaf smoke detector.

My bro and his family were almost killed a few years ago. My sis in law woke up not feeling well so she stayed home and slept. The kids came home from school and later started feeling ill as well. They figured it was a bug and they all had it. My brother got home also began not feeling well. Luckily, her mom came by to get something and, thinking to keep the bug from spreading to her, my sis in law went out to the front porch to wait and give her whatever it was. The longer she was out there, the better she felt. She mentioned this to her mother who ran into the house. She had to slap my brother to get him to move. Then the two of them carried the kids out. Then she went back in to talk the dogs out. Within minutes, they were all feeling much better. The fire department came and checked. There was a leak at their gas boiler. The paramedics checked their blood O2 and everyone was doing good. I think they should have all gone to the ER but they didn't. They left the dogs with a friend and they all slept in a hotel that night. They took the kids to the doc the following day but they were fine. They had smoke detectors but no carbon monoxide. They do now! Near the boiler, in each bedroom, the kitchen (gas stove) and the hallway.

[archangle]

I have several smoke detectors throughout the house, but being 58 year old, my hearing has started going bad. The ones in the basement are the ones, I might have a problem hearing at night.

I was just wondering if you could still smell smoke and other scents while using the mask.

There are networked smoke detectors where if one detector goes off, they ALL go off.

[PollCat]

Well seeing that the use of smoke detectors has been adequately covered, I'm going to address the issue of loss of smell over the long term. Since I've been using the CPAP for many years, my sense of smell has been greatly reduced. Recent experiences have proven that I can no longer smell either kind of natural gas nor the stench of a sewage treatment plant. And stopping to smell the roses is a waste of time. The downside of this is that some foods are not much fun to eat anymore.

[EyesWideOpen]

I'm like bobg1946 in that I can no longer smell the rotten egg smell of propane or sewer. In fact I installed a gas detector in the kitchen to let me know if there is a leak. I used to have a very sensitive sense of smell but that's gone now. On the bright side, I used to suffer from chronic congestion and allergies. They also disappeared when I started CPAP. I'm not sure if it was a fair trade or not, but I guess sleeping better and not being congested all the time is not bad at all.

[mikael26288]

The downside of this is that some foods are not much fun to eat anymore.

Well the good side of that would be, being able to eat those yucky vegetables you could never stand to eat because of the smell or taste.

[mjbearit]

While my sense of smell and taste is not what it once was, I am not going to rush to blame my CPAP. Between various asthma inhalers and nasal sprays, I would suspect them first before I would jump to the conclusion it is my CPAP. Just my 2 cents.
Mike

[DCwom]

I haven't experienced any long term change in my sense of smell, although I do smell baby powder for a minute or so immediately after I take off the mask in the morning. I've noticed that this occurs the first week or two after I get a new nasal pillow, I think your nose "calibrates" to the smell of new silicone overnight, then when its gone you have a phantom baby powder smell.

As for smelling smoke, is too late, that's what smoke detectors are all about! As for changing the batteries, since I have AC powered & networked smoke detectors the batteries are for backup power outages so I do it once every 4 years, (leap, year, Olympics, USA Presidential elections).

[BabyDoc]

It is a known fact that as people get older, their sense of sense can decline. It has nothing to do with using CPAP, alone.
I am 69, and only have been using APAP for about a month. Yet, I've noticed my sense of smell hasn't been great for nearly 10 years. My wife, who is 62, complains when I can't appreciate the smell of her roses she cultivates.

Having said that CPAP probably doesn't worsen your sense of smell, I recently switched to Swift FX nasal pillows, which while wearing them, has actually increased my sense of smell. How is that possible? Well, when I make a bathroom run during the middle of the night, the thin short hose that comes with the pillow hangs down from my nose, making me look like an elephant with its trunk hanging down. Well, if you can picture this, you can then understand why my nose is now closer to odors that I would rather not smell while standing in the bathroom. In fact it is so offensive, I had to figure out a fix, which was to place the end of the tube into my pajamma shirt pocket. The fabric of the pocket serves as an odor filter of sorts.

[mikael26288]

I haven't experienced any long term change in my sense of smell, although I do smell baby powder for a minute or so immediately after I take off the mask in the morning.

Thank you, that is the smell I have been trying to name. LOL

I have been having the same smell myself since I started using my machine. Yes it sure does smell like baby powder. Every morning when I take my mask off, I smell it and look all over the place to see what it might be. Guess it is just the mask for some reason.