What Is Bell's Palsy?
1. Symptoms of Bell’s Palsy
Bell’s palsy is characterized by the one-sided facial drop occurring within the first 72 hours. In rare instances, Bell’s palsy affects both sides, causing complete facial paralysis. The patient loses control over a number of functions including blinking, closing the eyes, smiling, frowning, lacrimation, raising eyebrows, and salivation.
Additionally, the patient loses taste sensation in the anterior two thirds of the tongue on the affected side. This occurs because a branch of the facial nerve, or chorda tympani nerve, carries the taste sensations from this particular area. Loss of feeling in the face, headache, tearing, pain around the jaw, in or behind your ear on the affected side, drooling, and hypersensitivity to sound are among the more common symptoms.
