Question: Hi, I am 61. Five months began a sore throat (lefthandside)....visit to GP did not identify anything...regardless Ive tried antibiotics and all the usual treatments...then five weeks ago I also get this strange smell (perfume/chemical/solvent) only appears to be in left nostril, the smell is more intense when close to running water...The smell worsens as the day wears on and I end up with headaches. I was referred to a ENT specialist, he used nose camera (on two occasions) and could find nothing wrong to cause either the smell or sore throat...he sent me for CT scan which did not find anything apart from two Thyroid nodules (15mm) on lefthandside of throat.....so I went for a Ultrasound and TNB ..which diagnosed nodules as benign.... Besides which the ENT specialist said this would not cause my symptoms. Ive also been to my dentist and teeth gums all check out as fine. The discomfort and sore throat seems to radiate from the same spot as the nodules (left) the same side as the smell in nostril !..... The sore throat I can put up with but the constant smell is driving me crazy and making life miserable. I use a nasal/sinus wash every evening and this alleviates the smell for a short period (hour or so). There is no discharge from my nose or any other symptom. some online blogs suggest a nasal fungal infection but as mentioned I have no discharge and the nasal rinse always comes out clear. Is there anything else you can suggest it may be ?...or tests or treatment I could try ?... To my mind because of the Thyroid nodules being on the left of my neck and the sore throat discomfort also on the left and the smell in left nostril all seem to be related - simply because it is all the lefthandside of my face........but my ENT specialist says the thyroid nodules may cause discomfort in the throat but NOT the nasal smell.
So I am as a loss ...trying to get a second opinion is difficult ...we have to wait for several months to see a specialist here (even as a private patient). Cheers....XXXXX