Effect of Age and Severity of Facial Palsy on Taste Thresholds in Bell's Palsy Patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether taste thresholds, as determined by electrogustometry (EGM) and chemical taste tests, differ by age and the severity of facial palsy in patients with Bell's palsy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study included 29 patients diagnosed with Bell's palsy between January 2014 and May 2015 in our hospital. Patients were assorted into age groups and by severity of facial palsy, as determined by House-Brackmann Scale, and their taste thresholds were assessed by EGM and chemical taste tests. CONCLUSIONS: Electrical taste thresholds were higher in Bell's palsy patients than in controls. These differences were observed in younger, but not in older, individuals.