In more complicated ear problems, such as tumors of the hearing and balance nerve, the facial nerve may be injured. There  are two  kinds of tumors, which can affect the facial nerve. The most common is a  non -malignant fibroid tumor of the hearing and balance nerves, called  an acoustic  neuroma tumor. 

This page was last updated on: September 17, 2007

Closely associated with the ear, and yet not part of the hearing process, is the facial nerve. The pathway it travels from the brain leads it through the same bony canal as the auditory and balance nerves, it passes  near the inner ear and through the middle ear in a bony canal  in the temporal bone, exiting through the mastoid bone just under the outer ear. Here it divides into many branches: to the tear gland, to the stapes muscle, to the  tongue and saliva glands and to the ear canal.

Although it is separated from the ear, disorders of the facial nerve can affect the ear and hearing, and vice versa. Abnormality of facial nerve function may result from circulation changes, infections, tumors, inflammation or be necessary to determine the cause of the disorder and localize the area of nerve involvement.

The most common  condition  resulting  in facial  nerve weakness or paralysis  is Bell's Palsy. The  underlying  cause of Bell's Palsy is not known, but it, may well be due to a viral infection of the nerve. We know that the nerve swells in its  tight bony  canal. This  swelling  results  in  pressure on  the  nerve  fibers  and   their blood vessels. Treatment is  directed  at decreasing  the swelling  and  restoring the  circulation  to  that  the  nerve  fibers  may  again function normally. At times normal function is not restored.

A  condition similar to Bell's Palsy is herpes  zoster oticus, "shingles" of the facial nerve. In  this condition  there is not only facial weakness but  also  often  hearing loss,  unsteadiness  and  painful  ear  blisters. These  additional  symptoms usually subside spontaneously but some hearing loss may remain.

The Facial Nerve: Cranial Nerve 7   

Although  there  is rarely  any weakness of the face. A   non-malignant   fibroid   growth may grow in the facial  nerve itself, producing a gradually progressive facial nerve paralysis. This type of  tumor is called a  facial nerve neuroma. Rarely does a facial nerve neuroma  cause a loss of inner ear hearing.