Anyone who has quickly slurped up a milkshake or chomped on a snow cone knows the sharp, brief pain of "brain freeze."
Its cause is a mystery, but it's not harmful, according to experts at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“It is very com...
People who are blind are better at sensing their own heartbeats, according to a new study that found blindness appears to heighten one's ability to feel signals from the inner body.
Most people have cherished memories of their grandparents reading to them as children.
Ekaterina Pesheva's memories are quite different.
"I remember distinctly being very irritated and very angry listening to my grandmother reading children's books to me, like fair...
When dogs' hearing fades, their mental skills follow, new research reveals.
For the study, the researchers examined the link between hearing loss in aging dogs and dementia
While humans typically use their sight to orient themselves, dogs navigate the world by combining their sense of smell with their vision.
So claims a new study that found dogs' sense of smell is integrated with their vision and other unique parts of their brain.
...
It has happened to millions during the pandemic: a sudden loss of smell that heralds the start of a COVID-19 infection. But scientists have been stumped as to why.
Until now.
New research suggests the symptom is due to inflammation rather than directly caused by th...
Immune system-triggered inflammation is the likely reason for the loss of smell reported by many COVID-19 patients, a new study finds.
"As a neuropathologist, I wondered why smell loss is a ve...
Scientists have discovered that even a mild case of COVID-19 might inflict damage on your brain.
On average, middle-aged and older adults who'd been sick with COVID showed signs of tissue shrinkage in brain areas related to the sense of smell, the researchers reported. T...
A medication that acts on certain brain receptors can temporarily ease visual-processing problems in some adults with autism, a small study has found.
Researchers said it's far too early to know whether the drug, arbaclofen, could prove useful in managing those visual is...
People who've lost their ability to smell and taste due to COVID-19 have significant struggles, but they can find ways to cope with their situation, a new study shows.
One of the most common side effects of COVID-19 is the loss of the sense of smell, which severely affec...
Having your wisdom teeth yanked could have one culinary up side: Heightening your sense of taste.
So claims a new study that challenges previous research on the issue.
"Prior studies have only pointed to adverse effects on taste after extraction, and it has been ge...
A year on, nearly all patients in a French study who lost their sense of smell after a bout of COVID-19 did regain that ability, researchers report.
"Persistent COVID-19-related anosmia [loss of smell] has an excellent prognosis, with nearly complete recovery at one year...
Breathing in tiny particles of air pollution over a long period of time may put your sense of smell at risk, a new study suggests.
Researchers found the risk for loss of smell - a condition called anosmia - was nearly doubled among people with lengthy exposure to this ty...
If you can't stand broccoli, celery or kale, you may be a supertaster, and it just might protect you from COVID-19.
Supertasters are folks who are highly sensitive to bitterness. They're not only less likely to get COVID-19 than people who aren't so sensitive to sharp, p...
A combination of hearing and vision loss is tied to an increased risk of mental decline and dementia, but having just one of those impairments isn't connected with a higher risk, a new South Korean study finds.
It's not clear why a diminishing of both senses, but not ju...
So, you had COVID-19 a few months back and you still can't smell that first steaming cup of coffee in the morning. Is there anything you can do to hasten the return of that vital sense?
Experts say there is, including "physical therapy" for your nose.
"In most case...
By now, most folks know that a loss of smell and taste are a hallmark of COVID-19 infection, but new research shows it can continue up to five months after the virus first strikes.
"It was apparent from the beginning of the pandemic that a significant percentage of peopl...
While loss of smell is a symptom of COVID-19, don't panic -- there are a variety of other possible causes, one expert says.
"It can be due to nasal or sinus inflammation, or other viral infections distinct from COVID-19," explained Dr. Bobby Tajudeen, director of rhinolo...
Special training may help COVID-19 patients regain their sense of smell after suffering parosmia, a new British study suggests.
Parosmia is a condition where people have strange and often unpleasant smell distortions. Instead of smelling a lemon, for example, you may sme...
Autism may involve nerves that control touch, pain and other sensations as well as the brain, a new study suggests.
"More than 70% of people with autism have differences in their sensory perception," said researcher Dr. Sung-Tsang Hsieh, an attending neurologist...
Like many other animals, people can move their ears to focus on a specific sound, researchers say.
However, this movement of ears is subtle and the ability to do it hasn't been known until now.
By measuring electrical signals in ear muscles as volunteers tr...
The aftereffects of COVID-19 are numerous, and now British researchers report that many patients recovering from infection with the new coronavirus have lingering hearing problems.
For the study, 120 U.K. patients who had been hospitalized for COVID-19 took part in a...
While a fever and cough have seemed to be the early warning signs of COVID-19, new research shows almost half of hospitalized patients experience a host of neurological problems.
In fact, headaches, dizziness, strokes, weakness, decreased alertness or other neurologi...
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's become clear that many people with the infection lose their sense of smell and taste. And doctors are concerned that some will never get back to normal.
At this point, it's hard to know how common the symptom is. First, ...
A sense of touch has been restored to a young man who lost it after being left paralyzed from the elbows down following a swimming accident nearly a decade ago.
How? By tapping into almost imperceptible neural signals that can remain even after spinal cord injury, an...
A new study adds to a growing pile of evidence that suggests losing your sense of smell and taste is an early sign of COVID-19.
While there has been anecdotal information about this link, these are the first empirical findings that make a strong connection, according...
Here's a clue that you may have coronavirus that might surprise you: a loss of your sense of smell.
Groups representing ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists in Britain and the United States have issued guidances that a sudden loss of a person's sense of smell may b...
Playing sports may improve the brain's ability to process sounds, a finding that could lead to new therapies for people who struggle with hearing, researchers report.
"No one would argue against the fact that sports lead to better physical fitness, but we don't alway...
Even a mild concussion can temporarily affect your sense of smell and trigger longer-term anxiety problems, a new study finds.
It's been known that such problems could occur after a major concussion. But this study found it's also true for minor concussions caused by...
Java junkies can sniff out even tiny amounts of coffee, and the more they drink, the better they can smell it, British researchers say.
It's a discovery with powerful implications for treating people addicted to substances with a distinct smell.
"The highe...
They say the nose knows, but can a loss of smell signal impending death?
Possibly, researchers say.
They discovered that a poor sense of smell was associated with a nearly 50% higher risk of death within the next decade for adults older than 70.
...Researchers have long wondered why blind people seem to have a sharpened sense of hearing. Now a Seattle team has pinpointed specific brain adaptations that occur in folks without sight.
"There's this idea that blind people are good at auditory tasks, because they ha...
Danish researchers have sniffed out a potential new weapon to fight armpit odor.
It's zinc oxide, or ZnO. The strategy was inspired by hospital wound care. Because putting zinc oxide on open surgical wounds reduces corynebacteria and the bad smell it creates, researc...
Could quitting tobacco involve something as simple as a pleasant scent?
New research suggests it's possible.
U.S. smoking rates have fallen over the past 50 years, but about 40 million Americans still smoke, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control...
Don't blame a loss of taste on your mouth, new research suggests.
Instead, most people can thank their nose for the problem, the study authors said.
The research team at the Virginia Commonwealth University's Smell and Taste Disorders Center examined the re...