Justin Bieber's Face Paralysed After Being Diagnosed With Ramsey Hunt Syndrome.

Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber disclosed on Friday that he was diagnosed with a virus that left half of his face paralyzed and forced him to cancel some upcoming performances to focus on recovery.

In a video posted on Instagram, Bieber said he had contracted Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which affected nerves in his ear and face. He noted that his right eye was not blinking, adding "I can't smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move. So there's full paralysis on this side of my face

Bieber, 28, said he was physically unable to perform his upcoming shows but was doing facial exercises and expected to recover.

"It will go back to normal," he said. "It's just time, and we don't know how much time that's going to be."

Bieber found fame as a 13-year-old and went on to become a global pop phenomenon with songs like 'Baby' and 'Believe'. He has two Grammy wins among 22 nominations, including a record and song of the year nods this year for 'Peaches'.

What is Ramsay Hunt syndrome?

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a neurological condition caused by varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox in children and shingles in adults. The virus can linger in your body for your entire life, even long after you have recovered from chickenpox, and reawaken to irritate and inflame the nerves in your face.

“The nerves that go through your face go through pretty narrow, bony canals, and when they’re inflamed they swell and lose the ability to function,” said Dr. Anna Wald, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

The illness affects men and women equally and can result in paralysis on one side of the face and painful, blistering rashes. It is more common in older people, and some patients experience changes in their hearing, perhaps perceiving sounds louder in one ear than another or developing tinnitus (a chronic ringing in the ears) or even deafness in one ear. Ear and facial pain is commonly a part of the syndrome, and some patients may suffer from vertigo.