How long will loss of taste and smell last?

[CherieBabySpliffUp]

I lost my sense of taste and smell this week and have resigned myself to a bland Christmas.
Having Googled some articles say it can be permanent or could take up to 18 months to get back to normal.
Can I ask for people's experiences?
TIA

Have you had your covid test if you have lost your taste and smell?
I was positive 2 week ago and mine went on the 4th day and came back 3 or 4 days later but can be lost for weeks later.

I tested positive on Sunday and I lost all my smell and most taste apart from really strong flavours 2 days ago. I really want to return to normal!!

I tested positive on the 28th October, I have just started being able to smell strong smells but only sometimes, and I'm not sure if it's memory of the smell rather than the actual smell, still have no taste either!

I didn't lose mine. My husband's took around two months to return properly. Perhaps a bit more.

Had covid in March. Sense of smell was completely absent for several weeks. It has returned but its intermittent.
Taste went completely too but that returned after a week.

Thanks for the replies.
Yes I've had a positive test result. I'll keep my fingers crossed that some sense of taste comes back by Christmas.

Partner’s only lasted 3-4 days.

Mine was gone for 15 days, just coming back faintly now. DH lost his a week after me but his is already drifting back (zo about 10 days for him).

Have faith, statistically it's likely that it'll be back soon enough.

Day 12 and I'm finally starting to smell again!

Many colleagues (positive in March/April) still can’t smell but taste seems to come back quicker (no evidence to back this up, just based on experience).

3 days, sounds like i was lucky though

I wouldn't be paying much attention to those articles, how could they know? Covid hasn't exactly been round that long to say 18 months +

I am 4 weeks in now and have the odd moment of taste, still no smell. I am optimistic it will come. It has never really annoyed me that much tbh as my other symptoms were severe so taste/smell didn't register as an issue.

About seven months on from what I strongly suspect was covid. Sense of smell is still very poor. Mixture of things I still can't smell at all, things that I get a weak, one dimensional sense of, and things that have a very distorted and unpleasant smell they never used to have. Taste is more back to normal but still compromised.

I do have hope that it is gradually improving though.