About Facial Nerves
Facial nerve damage refers to a condition where the muscles that are controlled by the facial nerves no longer respond. This causes the person to not be able to move their face. Facial nerve damage can lead to partial or total paralysis of the face and can be upsetting for the person experiencing it. Below are common causes, symptoms, and treatment options for people who have experienced recent facial nerve damage.
Causes
Trauma to the face or head area can cause nerve damage. This can happen due to blunt force, such as being hit hard with something heavy or sharp. Nerve damage can also happen due to certain conditions such as birth defects, Bell’s palsy, or a stroke. In addition, tumors or cancer will sometime cause facial nerve damage from the surgeries that may need to be performed to remove them from the face.
Symptoms
People who suffer from facial nerve damage can experience a wide range of symptoms. The most prevalent symptom is facial paralysis. Facial paralysis can cause a patient to be unable to move their facial muscles or to make involuntary facial movements. For example, some patients will smile or frown without meaning to and others will have eyes and mouths that droop. Sometimes the side of one face will drop down while the other appears as it normally did. Other symptoms can include a change in taste such as loss of taste or a change in hearing such as loss of hearing or hearing noises more loudly.
Treatment
There are a few different treatments for facial nerve damage that does not repair itself. These can include physical therapy, facial exercise, and surgery. Surgery can be performed by a reconstructive surgeon or our ENT specialist, Dr. Michael Barakate. Physical therapy should be performed both before and after a surgery so that muscles do not shorten.
If you would like to make an appointment with Dr. Michael Barakate, please contact ENT Clinic Sydney – Phone 1300 123 368.