What could cause olfactory seizures like smelling burnt rubber?

[JeffreyW]

I’ve been having these strange episodes where I’ll suddenly smell something very strong, like burnt rubber, but no one else can smell it and there’s no source. It only lasts for a minute but leaves me feeling disoriented. My doctor mentioned it could be a simple partial seizure affecting my olfactory cortex.

[AaronVR]

That smell aura happening out of nowhere can be an olfactory aura, which some people call a simple partial seizure. It’s unsettling, but it’s a plausible explanation for a brief episode followed by feeling out of sorts.

[Brandon.M]

I’ve had something like that too, once during a stressful week. The smell lasted under a minute, then I felt spacey for a while. We did EEG and MRI after a few episodes, and nothing obvious showed up.

[Donald.T]

Maybe it isn’t the whole picture. Could be a migraine aura or a weird sensory hiccup from fatigue or dehydration. I’m not sure the scope of the fix, but it did make me question what else is going on.

[Penelope61]

If you’re keeping notes, jot down when it happens, how long it lasts, what you were doing beforehand, and any other symptoms. A neurologist might order an EEG or MRI to check, and some people end up tracking patterns for weeks. It helped me to have concrete info when talking with doctors.