Practical Application of Clinical Tests for Facial Paralysis

Careful clinical examination of facial musculature function and taste together with a thorough medical history, still gives the most important primary information on facial nerve paralysis. In order to get further particulars about the potential presence of nerve degeneration, electromyography and threshold measurement for transcutaneous nerve excitability are essential. Since the latter technique enables us to find the first symptoms of denervation within a period of about three days, much earlier than electromyography, serial examination of the nerve excitability from the outset is the quickest and easiest way for the examiner to prognosticate a given paralysis.