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At-Home Olfactory Training

At-Home Olfactory Training With Essential-Oil Based Scents

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT03611673
Enrollment
70
Registered
2018-08-02
Start date
2018-06-02
Completion date
2021-04-19
Last updated
2023-07-20

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Olfactory Disorder

Keywords

sense of smell, smell test, at-home smell test, essential oil, olfactory loss

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of a twice daily at-home olfactory training program with a twenty scent, essential oil-based smell test in patients with olfactory dysfunction.

Detailed description

This study randomizes participants to receive either a four scent or fourteen scent olfactory retraining protocol. Baseline olfaction will be tested with a currently commercially available smell test as well as an essential oil based smell test. The protocol involves twice daily retraining where the participant inhales the scent and makes a mental note of what they should be smelling. The training period is six months total with a visit at 3 months to re-assess smell function as well as at six months.

Interventions

Oils are used for each of the different scents. Each scent will be put on an aromatherapy inhaling stick.

Sponsors

University of Kansas Medical Center
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Have clinical olfactory dysfunction

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnant women * Unable to perform routine follow-up * Current participation in another clinical trial during this trial * Patients with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or other neurocognitive disorders * Diagnosis of other systemic conditions known to impact the sinonasal cavity such as Wegener's granulomatosis, Churg Strauss, and immunodeficiency * Patients who are allergic to any of the smells or components of our olfactory testing * Chronic rhinosinusitis, malignant tumors and/or oncologic therapies (radiation/chemotherapy) * History of surgery on the nose or paranasal sinuses * Patients using medications that may impact olfactory function (i.e. corticosteroids)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in ability to detect odorants - Sniffin' SticksChange from Baseline to Month 6Sniffin Sticks are a battery of 12 scents within a tube. The subject smells each scent and then chooses from 4 multiple choice options which is the scent they smelled. Increased number of correct responses indicates better sense of smell. 12/12 is the maximum score. 0/12 is the minimum score.
Change in ability to detect odorants - AROMAChange from Baseline to Month 6AROMA is a essential oil based test. The subject is asked to respond if they detect a smell. If yes, they proceed to a 4 multiple choice items and select the item the smell. If no, they proceed to the next item. Higher number correct indicates better sense of smell. It consists of 13 odorants and 1 blank. Improved sense of smell would also increase the number of correctly identified odorants out of the 14 (including noting the 1 blank).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Questionnaire of Olfactory Disorders-Negative Statements (QOD-NS)Change from Baseline to Month 6The QOD-NS includes 17 statements that are graded on a scale from 0 to 3. Total score ranges from 0 to 51. Higher QOD-NS scores reflect better quality of life.
SF-12 (Short Form Health Survey)Change from Baseline to Month 6SF-12 is a validated general measure of quality of life instrument that includes physical and mental scales. There are a total of 12 questions. Each aspect of the scale is weighted differently to yield a composite score. In general, a higher score is associated with better health.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026