Six ways long-term smell loss can affect you A recent study showed that twelve to eighteen months after getting COVID-19, up to 46% of people are still going through a clinical reduction in their sense of smell. But what are the consequences of long-term smell loss on daily life? According to a neuroscientist, problems can consist of challenges with food safety, weight, relationships and mental health. Smell training would improve olfactory functions over time. When the pandemic began, a lot of studies indicated that a lot of people that have been infected with COVID lost their sense of smell at some point during infection. This is called anosmia.