With taste, we can simply choose to not put something in our mouths.  If the offending flavor is our own doing, we can develop the skill set to correct the taste.

With touch, we can choose to move away from the offending texture.  Wearing itchy wool? Stop wearing it!  Have rough wood? Either stop touching it, or sand it down.

With sight, we can choose to not look at something. This is one of my particular peeves, when people "choose" to be offended by something they see (alert: this will be a future blog, LOL). If you don't like something, don't look at it.  I was once on public transportation in Chicago, and the woman next to me started excavating her nose. I chose to leave my seat.

With hearing, we can choose to avoid sounds that are unpleasant by moving away from them, or blocking them with ear plugs. Sometimes simply reducing the volume of an offending sound allows us to mentally block its impact on us.

Alas, dealing with our sense of smell, and scents, is the most difficult sense to manage. This is because, unlike all of the other senses, our sense of smell is directly tied to a life function:  BREATHING. Our sense of smell is also one of our most sensitive senses, able to detect volatiles in parts per billion.  If a scent bothers us, we can try moving away, or we can try breathing through our mouths, but because of the sensitivity of this sense, we'll still get a "whiff."

Additionally, each of us seems to be wired differently in terms of what aromas please and displease us. My #1 odor complaint is perfume and cologne! I have met very few people who know how to wear scent properly, and the rest of them are simply annoying. Working with scent sinners in offices, riding with them on public transportation, or enduring their self-centeredness at wine tastings and restaurants where olfaction is so crucial to the overall experience (I attended a zinfandel tasting in mid May that was advertised as a "Scent-Free Event" ... the scent sinners did not care ... they stunk up the room with their perfumes and interfered with the appreciation of the wine.  They had no respect for others attending the tasting, or for the wine itself.

I will always defend one's right to express his/her individuality, as long as that individuality doesn't intrude on me without my permission.  It's about respect for one another.  Starting with such respect will prevent most of the world's problems.  Start with scent.

Be Happy!  Be Well!
Bret