Pop star Justin Bieber came under attack recently, and he took to YouTube to show fans the evidence. The singer shared how one side of his face was paralyzed and drooping. The attack wasn’t from a rival or a crazed fan but from Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
“As you can see this eye is not blinking,” he said. “I can’t smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move.”
The news from the Biebs led the world to ask: What in the world is Ramsay Hunt syndrome?
RHS is a rare neurological disorder caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same bug that causes chicken pox and shingles, CNN Health reported. After a bout with chicken pox or shingles clears up, the virus continues to live on in the nerves and can reactivate.
The condition happens when a viral reactivation outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of the victim’s ears, according to the Mayo Clinic.
RHS includes a number of possible signs and symptoms, with the two main ones being a painful rash with fluid-filled blisters in and around the ear and facial weakness or paralysis on the side with the affected ear, the clinic said. Additional symptoms can include ear pain, hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo.
The symptoms are usually temporary, though the Mayo Clinic urges prompt treatment of RHS to help avoid complications, “which can include permanent facial muscle weakness and deafness.”
Bieber, for his part, remained calm and reassured his fans that everything will be fine.
“I’m gonna get better,” he said, adding, “It will go back to normal, it’s just time — and we don’t know how much time it’s going to be — but it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be OK.”
“I have hope, and I trust God, and I trust that this is all gonna, it’s all for a reason,” Bieber shared.
