All muscles ipsilateral to the lesion display a weakness or paralysis. The latter is a term usually used when a specific cause has not been found and is therefore a diagnosis of exclusion. A facial nerve palsy can pose many significant problems for the patient. There can be a considerable facial asymmetry. Activities such as talking, eating, shaving, and whistling can be very difficult.
Food often gets lodged in the cheek.
Ocular complications include lagophthalmos and its anterior surface sequelae from exposure, upper eyelid retraction, dryness, paralytic ectropion and a resulting epiphora. The risk to the cornea can be grave. The majority of patients with Bell's palsy recover fully without any treatment, however the cornea must be protected during the course of the illness. In January 1998, PH, a 46 year-old white male experienced pain in and around his right ear. A doctor at a 24-hour medical centre diagnosed a viral inner ear infection.