A statistical analysis was performed on 145 patients with facial nerve palsy treated at the Department of Otolaryngology of Tokushima University Hospital between January 1996 and December 1997. The Incidence of Bell's palsy and Hunt syndrome was 66.2% and 17.9%, respectively. Five patients with Bell's palsy and 7 patients with Hunt syndrome showed poor recovery in their facial motor function. Five patients with Bell's palsy who showed poor recovery were generally older; they were aged between 57 to 75 years. The 7 patients with Hunt syndrome who showed a poor recovery aged between 10 to 69 years. Of these 7 patients,4 cases were misdiagnosed as Bell's palsy at onset because the auricular helpetic eruptions appeared later. In those cases, the Shirmer test was thought to be useful for screening Hunt syndrome before the appearance of the eruptions.
