Unusual Smell/Sensory Preferences?

[jleeb05]

I've read a lot on the internet and on this forum about people on the spectrum being hypersensitive to certain smells. For me, it seems like the opposite. While there are, of course, certain odors that I don't like, I feel that I have a fairly weak sense of smell. I also seem to enjoy smells that others might find unusual.

For example, I was at the dentist today and while there is much about the experience that I find unpleasant, I rather enjoy the smell of latex gloves. And while I haven't been to the Zoo in years I recall that as a kid I had a pleasant association with the smell of the elephant enclosure...which I'm guessing smelled like a mixture of hay and elephant dung I'm not saying I would go around spraying myself with a cologne that smelled like latex and elephants but there just something I like about the smells.

I feel the same unusual nature about some of my other senses. Like I'm not a big fan of crunchy textures. While most people seem to like their cereal crunchy, as a kid I'd wait until my cereal was nice and soggy before starting to eat it. Does anyone else have unusual sensory preferences or is it just me?

 

[Nervous Rex]

I do. It often seems like my sense of smell is more sensitive than normal - or that other people filter out and ignore smells more easily than I can.

My current pet peeve is an air freshener that my wife bought for the bathroom (White Barn, Vanilla Birch). Everyone else thinks is smells fine, but the way the chemicals linger in the air is more noxious to me than the smells it’s intended to cover up. I think I need to go shopping with her and find a different air freshener that we both like.

 

[Ronin82]

I have a super-human sense of smell. I hate anything with a lot of artificial chemicals and fragrance. However, I actually LIKE the smell of skunk. Can't tell you why, I just do. I also love the smell of horses.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Cleaning chemicals, ammonia, or new cheap plastic that's outgassing. Those are the worst smells I can imagine.

I do love the smell of essential oils, firewood, chocolate (mmmmm), coconut, roses, and freshly clean babies. Oh and the smell of a dog!!!

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

I have a super-human sense of smell. I hate anything with a lot of artificial chemicals and fragrance. However, I actually LIKE the smell of skunk. Can't tell you why, I just do. I also love the smell of horses.

I love the smell of horses too.

 

[Suzette]

I am not overly sensative to most smells. The world simply stinks good and bad. But I am usually the person who notices a smell that does not belong. Like detecting a gas leak or smelling electrical fire well before the scent is noticable to everyone else.

 

[Misery]

What sort of unusual scent do I like?

Dead fish.

No, I dont know why. Just smile and nod and back away slowly.

Also chlorine in a pool, now that I think about it. Maybe that one is a little less weird than the first one.

 

[Suzette]

What sort of unusual scent do I like?

Dead fish.

No, I dont know why. Just smile and nod and back away slowly.

Also chlorine in a pool, now that I think about it. Maybe that one is a little less weird than the first one.

Misery loves company, yes? My dog Tigger also loves dead fish smell. He us the best dog that ever was you know. He is quite exalted.

 

[jleeb05]

Cleaning chemicals, ammonia, or new cheap plastic that's outgassing. Those are the worst smells I can imagine.

I do love the smell of essential oils, firewood, chocolate (mmmmm), coconut, roses, and freshly clean babies. Oh and the smell of a dog!!!

Ooh newborn babies and firewood are great.

I don't like the scent of all dogs but I do like the smell of my dog It's not unusual for me to sniff her paws or fur haha. We have no interest in doing that to another dog unless it was freshly bathed. I think in general I like smells that are familiar.

 

[jleeb05]

I do. It often seems like my sense of smell is more sensitive than normal - or that other people filter out and ignore smells more easily than I can.

My current pet peeve is an air freshener that my wife bought for the bathroom (White Barn, Vanilla Birch). Everyone else thinks is smells fine, but the way the chemicals linger in the air is more noxious to me than the smells it’s intended to cover up. I think I need to go shopping with her and find a different air freshener that we both like.

Oh yes, there is some scents in air fresheners that I can't stand. One of them is Lavender. If I use an
air freshener plug in keep it on the lowest setting because I don't like strong smells, even pleasant ones.

 

[unperson]

I used to like turpentine but maybe it was the inadvertant high you get from it, lol.

New clothing smell, I think it's a chemical but I like it.

 

[Richelle-H]

Well, I actually like the smell of skunk. Now I have never actually been sprayed, but I have been very close, and I find their scent intriguing rather than off-putting. I would guess that puts me in a distinct minority. *wink*

 

[Neonatal RRT]

My sense of smell is on the weak side. I can smell most things, but it doesn't appear to be nearly as intense as say, others who are in distress about certain smells,...like skunk, vomit, feces, etc. I've had two dogs, each have been sprayed by skunk,...I let one into the house and was in the house for hours,...never smelled it. My wife was quite distressed with the situation. Another dog, that skunk stunk up the whole neighborhood,...I was washing the dog after he got sprayed,...didn't smell it.

Another example, at the hospital we have to do an annual "fit test",...basically, testing the proper seal of an isolation mask by spraying a fragrance around the mask. Well, I can't smell or taste that spray,...so I fail the test each year. I relegated to wear that full hood/blower assembly when I go into an isolation room,...a very time consuming exercise.

On the other hand, I smell mold spores WAY before anyone else can. Walk me past an air conditioning outlet, dirty bathroom, or a damp basement,...it can be quite intense. When I was a kid and even as a young adult I had this annoying habit of smelling everything before I ate or drank it,...it was like an unconscious habit that people would point out to me, laugh or tease me about.

 

[unperson]

I can sorta smell illness. I mean like one of my 'parents' slowly but surely developed a somewhat metallic, slightly sour smell...15 years later, a cancer dx.

I think they use sniffer dawgs for cancer now.