An expert has suggested Justin Bieber could be left with paralysis in his face “long-term”. On Friday, the 28-year-old singer revealed he had been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which saw his face become “fully” paralysed down the right side after a rare virus attacked the nerves in his ear.
He took to Instagram to tell fans he has had to to cancel his upcoming tour dates because of the sudden condition. “Been getting progressively harder to eat which has been extremely frustrating. Please pray for me,” he added.
Following Justin’s announcement, an expert in neurological rehabilitation at Oxford Brookes University has suggested that the star could have “long-term” effects from the condition. Although most people recover fully, Justin appears to have a “serious case of the virus”, according to Professor Derick Wade in the Mirror.
“How well will it recover? He’s already told you the answer to that,” he added.
Speaking to his Instagram fans on Friday, Justin said that his diagnosis feels “serious”. “It is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear in my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” he said.
“As you can see, this eye is not blinking. 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. It’s pretty serious.
“I wish this wasn’t the case but obviously my body’s telling me I gotta slow down. We don’t know how much time it is going to be but it’s going to be OK,” he added.
In the video, Justin attempted to smile, blink and move his face but one side remained still as he continued to speak. “So for those who are frustrated by my cancellations of the next shows, I’m just physically, obviously not able of doing them.
“I hope you guys understand, and I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to 100% so I can do what I was born to do. But in the meantime, this ain’t it.”
Since revealing his diagnosis, Bieber has received an outpouring of love for his honesty from celebrity friends including DJ Khaled, Romeo Beckham and his wife Hailey Bieber who wrote: “I love you baby.”