justin bieber has temporary facial paralysis due to ramsay hunt syndrome

in a video he posted on instagram , bieber, 28, explained that he’s been diagnosed with ramsay hunt syndrome.

what is ramsay hunt syndome?

ramsay hunt is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. it can linger in the body forever, and can potentially re-emerge even years after someone has recovered from chickenpox. it impacts the facial nerve near one of the ears, the mayo clinic explains , and will usually cause painful blisters around the ear as well as temporary paralysis on that side of the face. it may also cause symptoms including ear pain, hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus, dry mouth and eyes, and a change in taste perception.

it’s a fairly rare condition: it occurs in about five out of 100,000 americans per year , and makes up about seven per cent of acute facial paralysis symptoms. (for reference, bell’s palsy , which also causes facial paralysis, affects between 15 and 30 americans per year.)

it’s most common in adults over 60, and it’s “very unusual” for someone in their 20s, like bieber, to be diagnosed with ramsay hunt, dr. kashif pirzada told ctv news .

ramsay hunt “can happen to anyone,” said dr. waleed javaid, director of infection prevention and control at mount sinai downtown in new york, told the new york times . “but it’s not something that people should be afraid of.”

no, it’s isn’t related to covid-19 vaccines

“children are now routinely vaccinated against chickenpox, which greatly reduces the chances of becoming infected with the chickenpox virus” that causes the syndrome, the mayo clinic states . “a shingles vaccine for people age 50 or older also is recommended.”

how is ramsay hunt treated?

treating ramsay hunt quickly is crucial in mitigating the damage it can do to the body. while permanent facial paralysis or hearing loss does happen occasionally, most people make a full recovery, dr. michael ison, a professor of infectious diseases at northwestern feinberg school of medicine, told the new york times. “some people, it takes weeks. some people, it takes months,” he said. (canadian politician olivia chow recovered from ramsay hunt syndrome in 2013.)

his wife, model hailey baldwin bieber, also had health problems recently: in march she announced that a blood clot to her brain had caused “stroke-like symptoms,” in what experts say sounds like a transient ischemic attack (or mini-stroke).