Hi. Thank you for writing to HCM.
It seems that you are experiencing
parosmia which means the perception of offensive smell when others can't perceive it.
There can be two main causes of parosmia, one being neurological for which it is recommended that you see a
neurologist and undergo an evaluation for this. You may need an MRI of the brain and possibly need to undergo the pensilvenia smell test which will assess you for different types of smell.
The second cause being local pathologies within the nose such as allergies in the ethmoidal
sinus or AFRS (allergic fungal rhinosinusitis) which also leads to altered smell. It is recommended that you visit an
ENT specialist to have this evaluated as well. You may require nasal
endoscopy also.
Based on what is identified you may require medications such as antiallergic medications, oral
steroids, decongestants or steroid nasal sprays, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications and multivitamin/antioxidant supplementation.
The surgery may have indirectly lead to the current parosmia is there was some
nerve injury at that time. It may have lead to some abnormal report over time and may be presenting now with the symptoms.
Hope this helps. Do let me know if you have any other questions.