University of East Anglia Jun 16 2026 University of East Anglia research reveals that smell loss can affect quality of life as severely as conditions including diabetes, stroke, Parkinson's, and kidney failure. For millions of people, the ability to smell a morning coffee or taste a home‑cooked meal is something they barely think about. But a new study shows that when those senses disappear, life can quickly become bleak - with patients reporting levels of misery comparable to some of the most