A Peculiar Aspect Of Aging?

In the last year or so, I have noticed some crossing-over of my senses, a little bit of synesthesia.* For example, when I saw a lovely, glimmering lake on a video, I suddenly got a good, deep whiff of the lake. It was the rich, fishy smell of a healthy lake full of life, like the lakes where I played as a child. I got several good, deep breaths of it. Another time I experienced the fragrance of baking bread while I was watching a cooking show, that was a real treat.

I do not recall experiencing these little delights when I was younger, is this typical of aging? I have never aged before so I have nothing to compare it to.

Or is this synesthesia a side-effect from when I was so very, very ill in November/December of 2019, at the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic?

Either way, this enrichment of my senses is very pleasant, in a peculiar sort of way.

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* "Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which information meant to stimulate one of your senses stimulates several of your senses. People who have synesthesia are called synesthetes.

"The word “synesthesia” comes from the Greek words: “synth” (which means “together”) and “ethesia” (which means “perception). Synesthetes can often “see” music as colors when they hear it, and “taste” textures like “round” or “pointy” when they eat foods.

"Researchers are still unsure about how common synesthesia is. One 2006 study proposed that it occurs in 2 to 4 percent of the population." Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/synesthesia