It All Began with Chlorine

I'm Ben Larson, and I suffer from anosmia. Only recently did I learn that there is such a thing and that it's real. I'll start at the wet, odorless beginning. Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, I spent nearly every afternoon from April to September at a swimming pool. I remember the bright sparkle of the water, the splashes and laughter, and the unmistakable smell of chlorine. It was a comfort smell for me--it meant family nearby and fun times ahead.

I don't know when it actually happened, but I know when I noticed. It was one afternoon about 4 years ago at the Del Sol Inn across from Disneyland. My wife and 3 kids were all sitting in the hot tub with me, and everyone's eyes were burning from the heavily chlorinated mist.

My wife asked me, "How can you stand it?"

"I know! It's killing me! I wonder what chemicals they're using."

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Can't you smell the chlorine? I can't stand it!"

And then I knew...all the pools that I thought had switched over to some sort of salt-treatment were still using good-old chlorine. I just couldn't smell it any more. That very hot tub was loaded with chlorine, and it didn't have any odor at all to me.

I lapped some water up (I know--gross!) to see if I could at least taste it. No luck. Salty.

And there I was, I knew I would probably never be able to smell that very familiar smell again. Not the end of the world, I suppose, but how many other smells would go? What was happening? Was this the beginning of the end?