Since my TBI, my sense of smell is, shall we say, muted. My husband once caught me about to cook a piece of fish that had clearly gone off.

I also find that my tastes have changes. I no longer like things I enjoyed before the accident and will eat stuff I used to hate. On occassion, I also get a metalic taste in my mouth.

I have significant loss of sensation. For example, one hand has some feeling, but the other can barely distinguish boiling hot from freezing cold (and sometimes mixes them up), can't tell sandpaper from silk and can't tell the difference between wet and dry. In addition to being annoying, this has lead to many burns, cuts, etc... (One the plus side, I'm saving a fortune on oven mitts) Bear in mind that I also suffered a spinal cord injury, so it's hard to say if this problem is brain or cord or, most likely, a charming combo pack.

Anyway, you might find that a few simple exercises might help "rewire" your brain for sensation. If one hand has more sensation than the other, put the good hand in a bowl of cold (or hot) water and say cold, cold, cold. Then put the bad hand in too and say "cold, cold, cold." You can also do this exercise with textures. If you get better at it, use a blindfold and recruit a helper. (Sometimes I know something is rough, for example, because I can see it. Without the visual stimulation, my brain has a harder time making the right identification.)

The theory behind this sort of therapy is that it either reminds your brain about something it forgot during the long healing process or that it is helping you to establish new neuro pathways. I can't promise it will help you. However, you may decide it's worth a go. Afterall, you can do it youself, all it costs is a little time and it isn't going to hurt you.

Cheers