AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Phantosmia is a condition that causes you to smell odors that aren’t actually present. When this happens, it’s sometimes called an olfactory hallucination. The types of odors people smell vary from person to person. Some might notice the odor in just one nostril, while others have it in both.

Detailed explanation-2: -The term for this type of olfactory hallucination is dysosmia. Common causes of dysosmia are head and nose injury, viral damage to the smell system after a bad cold, chronic recurrent sinus infections and allergy, and nasal polyps and tumors. The brain is usually not the source.

Detailed explanation-3: -Or it could be an odor that isn’t actually present (known as phantosmia). Your symptoms suggest you have periods of phantosmia: your brain registers an odor when none is present in the environment. But at other times, it could be parosmia, meaning you are more sensitive to a smell that doesn’t bother other people.

Detailed explanation-4: -An olfactory hallucination (phantosmia) makes you detect smells that aren’t really there in your environment. The odors you notice in phantosmia are different from person to person and may be foul or pleasant.

Detailed explanation-5: -Olfactory hallucinations or fantosmia are perceptions of smells that have no object. They almost always consist of unpleasant smells: rotten fish or eggs, gasoline, excrement, and so on. Their origin is generally central.