Olfactory dysfunction following trauma has been widely reported and is curr
ently compensable according to existing American Medical Association guidel
ines when it occurs in the occupational setting. Its presence and the risk
factors for its development, however, have not been clearly delineated in o
ccupationally head injured workers. In order to assess this phenomenon, a s
eries of 365 consecutive head injured workers from 1993-1997 was assessed i
n order to determine the incidence of post-traumatic olfactory dysfunction
and its association with the severity of the head injury, the mechanism of
injury and other neurotological abnormalities in the same cohort group. Olf
actory dysfunction was identified in 13.7% (9.3% with anosmia, 4.4% with hy
posmia/dysosmia). It was more likely where the loss of consciousness >1 h (
p < 0.002), in more severe head injuries (grades II-V) (p < 0.001) and when
skull fracture (p < 0.001) occurred. The direction of the blow applied to
the skull did not influence its presence, although radiologically confirmed
skull fractures in the frontal, occipital, skull base and midface were twi
ce as likely as temporal and parietal fractures to result in an olfactory c
hange. From a neurotologic perspective, approximately 21.9% of head injured
workers were determined to have recognizable evidence of cochleovestibular
dysfunction. Olfactory dysfunction as a physical finding post-head injury
compares favourably with the presence of post-traumatic benign positional p
aroxysmal vertigo (BPPV) and its atypical variants in 11.2% of head injured
workers.