Justin Bieber is battling a serious virus. In an Instagram video shared on June 10, the 28-year-old singer revealed that the right side of his face is currently paralyzed and he’ll have to take some time off of work to get better. In the video shared on Friday, which you can see below, Justin explained he’s been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, which has affected the nerve in his right ear, causing the paralysis.
“Obviously as you can probably see with my face. I have this syndrome called Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is from this virus that attacks the nerves in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis,” he said.
As you can see, Justin is unable to blink his right eye, and he can only smile with half of his face at this time. It’s actually why the singer recently cancelled a string of shows over the last week. In the video message to his fans, Justin actually apologized for cancelling those shows, but he said this illness is “pretty serious” and he’ll need to take even more time off to get healthy again.
Justin further said that he’s been doing facial exercises and over time, he should get healthy again. But how long that’ll take, even Justin doesn’t know. Justin’s seven-leg, 130-date Justice World Tour kicked off in February, but when he and wife Hailey Bieber both got COVID, a few shows were cancelled. And now, he’s been forced to cancel some more shows. Obviously, it’s not something fans had hoped for, but we can only imagine they’ll want the singer to focus on his health at this time.
“Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a complication of shingles, caused by the same virus as chickenpox (VZV), that can lead to facial paralysis. The virus becomes reactivated after laying dormant for years and causes inflammation and irritation on the facial nerves. VZV is harmless unless it is reactivated and should this happen new symptoms will appear. The virus can be reactivated when the immune system is weakened, and less able to fight off infection. Stress is often a trigger,” according to the Daily Mail. “Treatment usually involves antiviral medication.”