Can’t Smell Coffee Anymore? Experts Say It Could Mean Something Dark (2 of 2)

For families, this can be haunting. One man recalled how his father, days before passing, kept saying food “tasted like cardboard.” Another woman described how her mother couldn’t smell her favorite lavender soap anymore — and within a week, she was gone.

But the most disturbing part? The body may even start producing subtle warning signals others can detect. Some hospice workers quietly admit they can “smell death” on a patient before doctors officially declare decline. Not in a morbid, rotting sense — but a faint, chemical shift that clings to the air.

Imagine sitting across from someone you love, leaning in to hug them, and catching a whiff of something you can’t explain. Imagine realizing days later that it wasn’t your imagination at all.

Of course, none of this means every stuffy nose or lost sense of smell is a death sentence. Illness, allergies, even aging itself can dull the senses. But when sudden, unexplained loss of smell appears in otherwise stable people — especially the elderly — it may be the body’s quiet alarm bell, signaling that the end is closer than anyone wants to admit.

We like to think death arrives out of nowhere, blindsiding us. The truth is, our bodies may know the countdown has begun. And if you pay attention, the first whisper of mortality might not come from your heart or your mind… but from your nose.