Interestingly (to me at least), about 4 months ago I had my first
olfactory hallucination.
I left my office, went to the parking lot, and got in my vehicle. I
smelled something strong. I never could quite identify it, but it made
me think something had curled up and died in the door of my truck.
After several minutes the smell disappeared.
A couple hours later, I was talking with a friend in the library, and
there the smell was again, just as strong as it was before. (Of course
at this point I was wondering what sort of hygiene problem I might
have. I did later ask my friend if she smelled anything strange during
our conversation; she looked at me blankly.) Once again, after several
minutes, the smell disappeared.
The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I smelled it again, but this
time it was much fainter and didn't last as long.
The smell has reappeared once or twice since then, but just faintly.
Each time I've had the hallucination, I've perceived the smell as coming
from the left.
Given that my symptoms have not worsened, I've ruled out brain tumor and
temporal lobe seizures. =) The day I was in my office, the custodial
staff had just cleaned the carpets using a heavy dose of bleach. My
guess is that sitting in that environment for 3-4 hours produced some
temporary nerve damage.
With greater empathy for those who hallucinate,
Sue
--
Sue Frantz, Asst Prof of Psych [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Faculty Office Bldg, 2400 Scenic Drive Office: (505)439-3752
New Mexico State Univ. - Alamogordo Fax: (505)439-3802
Alamogordo, NM 88310 USA http://web.nmsu.edu/~sfrantz
