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Purpose: The decrease in smell in the elderly population is frequent and considered a natural process. However, sometimes it can be associated with the decline of cognitive functions, and it is considered a warning for the early stage of neurodegenerative diseases and social impairment., Objective: To assess the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in previous healthy elderly that attended a tertiary hospital in Brazil as escorts and the clinical alterations associated in this population., Methods: Subjects 60 years or over attending the University Hospital of Campinas were evaluated. Each participant answered a questionnaire, followed by an otorhinolaryngological exam with flexible nasal endoscopy and the Connecticut smell test produced by the Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (CCCRC). Elderly people with nasosinusal diseases or with a history of nasal surgery were excluded., Results: Of the total of 103 participants, 16 (15.5%) reported olfactory complaints and 68 (66%) presented impairment in the olfactory test. It was observed that older individuals showed more changes in olfactory function (p = 0.001). Gender, education, lifestyle, comorbidities, medications in use and exposure to pollutants did not influence the impairment olfactory function of this population., Conclusions: There is a significant prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in the elderly population evaluated. Most of these elderlies also present an inability to identify odours, not having awareness of this olfactory impairment., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)