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Characteristics of taste disorders

  • Rhinology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aim of this retrospective study was to obtain information about the frequency of taste disorders, their most frequent causes, and typical symptoms. A total of 491 out of 4,680 patients (presenting for the first time between 1998 and 2011) exhibited taste disorders (10.5 %). All patients underwent a thorough physical otorhinolaryngological examination including detailed assessment of smell and taste functions. The three most frequent causes of disorders were idiopathic (34 %), posttraumatic (24 %), and postoperative (15 %). Patients with idiopathic and postoperative taste disorders complained mainly about hypogeusia and parageusia; in comparison, patients with posttraumatic taste disorders exhibited a relatively higher degree of partial, local, or complete ageusia. Among patients with phantogeusia and parageusia, 38 % reported salty, and 22 % mixed sensations like bitter–salty or sour–sweet. In approximately 1/3 of this group of patients the cause of dysgeusia is unknown. Twenty-one percent of the patients complained of qualitative rather than quantitative taste problems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Bettina Hauswald for her help in diagnosing and counseling the patients; we also are indebted to Elena Flohr for her help with the statistical analyses of the data.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to T. Hummel.

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Fark, T., Hummel, C., Hähner, A. et al. Characteristics of taste disorders. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 270, 1855–1860 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-2310-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-012-2310-2

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