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What Are the Symptoms?

A number of other conditions can also cause facial paralysis. Your doctor should be able to determine whether you have Bell's palsy based on the specifics of your symptoms.

For instance, after a stroke the muscles of the forehead and eyelid are rarely affected. Stroke patients are often unable to move their facial muscles voluntarily, but will have facial muscle movements as involuntary emotional responses (as in smiling or laughing). If you have Bell's palsy, however, all facial movements will be paralyzed.

In the case of a tumor, any facial paralysis will usually come on gradually and, depending on the location of the tumor, there may be other symptoms that are not found in Bell's palsy. Most other conditions that can cause facial paralysis include symptoms that are not common to Bell's palsy.

Here are the symptoms of Bell's Palsy:

• Drooping of the muscles on one side of the face
• Inability to close the eyelid on the affected side, including the inability to blink
• Excess or decreased tearing
• Drooling
• Difficulty chewing on the affected side
• Decreased sense of taste on the affected side
• Twitching of the muscles on the affected side
• Pain or numbness behind the ear on the affected side of the face

Call Your Doctor If:

• You notice any weakness or drooping of your facial muscles.
• You cannot blink or close your eye.
• You have excess or decreased tearing.
• You have numbness, pain or twitching of your facial muscles