[Possibilities of diagnostic errors in paralysis of the 7th cranial nerve]

Approximately 5% of all facial paralyses are of neoplastic origin while approximately 80% represent idiopathic or Bell's palsies. Whenever a tumor is suspected accurate testing is imperative; testing aimed at the nerve trunk both above and especially below the stilomastoid foramen. In fact, occult neoplasms are much more frequently located within the parotid. The present work presents a case where facial palsy was associated with profound ipsilateral hearing loss. Diagnostic efforts were, therefore, focussed on the cerebello-pontine angle and the Fallopian canal, thus delaying recognition of its real etiology (a mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid).