Speculation into the etiologic role of viruses in the development of Bell's palsy and disorders of inner ear dysfunction: a case history and review of the literature.

It has long been postulated that Bell's palsy and a number of inner ear disorders may have as their basis a common underlying viral etiology. The change from one recognizable inner ear disorder into another is not unusual in the same patient and has been recognized by neurotologists. The case history of a patient who initially presented with an idiopathic facial palsy that years later developed into a spectrum of vestibular dysfunction associated with the clinical stigmata of herpes zoster is discussed. Although difficult to prove, support for this continuum theory is reviewed, taking into account known viral involvement in other cranial nerves and various histopathologic findings from disorders involving the inner ear and facial nerve.