Ramsay Hunt syndrome is when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near someone’s ears, resulting in paralysis of parts of the face.

Nicoya Rescorla has the same condition as Justin, and says it’s “taken away her independence.”

“The pain has been horrendous – it’s been debilitating,” she tells .

ramsay hunt syndrome symptoms

The 28-year-old, from Marazion in Cornwall, got Ramsay Hunt in October 2020, and says it started with neck pain before the paralysis kicked in.

Following that, she experienced a range of other symptoms too.

“The vertigo and balance has really knocked me sideways,” she adds.

‘Isolated physically and mentally’

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome can’t be passed from one person to another, but it is a complication from a transmissible disease called shingles.

Shingles is linked to the chickenpox virus that a lot of people can get when they’re children.

According to the charity Facial Palsey UK, if the immune system becomes depressed and is less able to fight off infection, the body can become vulnerable to a reactivation of the chickenpox virus.

It says stress is often a trigger as it can weaken the immune system and people who are stressed are more likely to suffer from infections.

What Is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?

Justin Bieber announced that he had the rare facial condition. Here’s what you need to know about it.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a neurological condition caused by varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox in children and shingles in adults. The virus can linger in your body for your entire life, even long after you have recovered from chickenpox, and reawaken to irritate and inflame the nerves in your face.

“The nerves that go through your face go through pretty narrow, bony canals, and when they’re inflamed they swell and lose the ability to function,” said Dr. Anna Wald, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

is ramsay hunt syndrome permanent

The illness affects men and women equally and can result in paralysis on one side of the face and painful, blistering rashes. It is more common in older people, and some patients experience changes in their hearing, perhaps perceiving sounds louder in one ear than another or developing tinnitus (a chronic ringing in the ears) or even deafness in one ear. Ear and facial pain is commonly a part of the syndrome, and some patients may suffer from vertigo.

What triggers Ramsay Hunt syndrome?

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox in children and shingles (herpes zoster) in adults. In cases of Ramsay Hunt syndrome, previously inactive (dormant) varicella-zoster virus is reactivated and spreads to affect the facial nerve.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome can also cause hearing loss on the side of the face affected. Like Bieber, it can also cause a weakness, facial droop or paralysis on the side of the face which has been attacked by the virus.

That weakness can cause difficulty with closing one eye, making facial expressions and eating, as food can fall out of the side of the weakened mouth.

Treatment consists of steroids such as prednisone to reduce inflammation and pain medication. At time, antiviral medicines that help with the herpes family, such as acyclovir or valacyclovir may be prescribed.

Bierber assured fans that he is “gonna get better” and that he was doing “facial exercises to get my face back to normal.”

“It will go back to normal — it’s just time and we don’t know how much time, but it’s going to be OK,” he said in the video. “Obviously my body’s telling me I gotta slow down. I hope you guys understand and I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to 100%.”

According to Mount Sinai, full recovery is not certain. Some recover in a few months, though. The earlier it is caught the better the chance of recovery.