{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T06:02:15Z","timestamp":1791525735137,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,13]],"date-time":"2021-03-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1615593600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: Non-motor symptoms in the form of increased sensitivity are often associated with the onset of idiopathic Bell\u2019s palsy (IBP). The aims were to determine whether the pain threshold in the retroauricular regions (RAR) in IBP patients and the time of its occurrence is related to IBP severity. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among 220 respondents (142 IBP patients, 78 healthy subjects (HS)). The degree of IBP was graded using the House\u2013Brackmann and Sunnybrook Grading Scales (II\u2014mild dysfunction, VI\u2014total paralysis), whereas the pain thresholds were measured using the digital pressure algometer. Results: We found no difference in the degree of the pain threshold between the right and left RAR in the HS group. IBP patients belonging to groups II, III, IV, and V had lower pain thresholds in both RARs than HS and IBP patients belonging to group VI. There was no difference in the degree of pain threshold in RAR between the affected and unaffected side in IBP patients. The incidence of retroauricular pain that precedes paralysis and ceases after its occurrence in groups II and III of IBP patients is noticeably lower and the incidence of retroauricular pain that occurred only after the onset of paralysis is more frequent. Also, we found that the incidence of retroauricular pain that precedes paralysis and ceases after its occurrence in groups V and VI of IBP patients was more frequent. Conclusions: The degree of pain threshold lowering in RAR (bilaterally) is inversely related to the severity of IBP. We suggest that the occurrence of retroauricular pain before the onset of facial weakness is associated with higher severity of IBP while the occurrence after the onset is associated with lower severity of IBP.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina57030263","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,14]],"date-time":"2021-03-14T23:52:06Z","timestamp":1615765926000},"page":"263","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Bell\u2019s Palsy\u2014Retroauricular Pain Threshold"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"57","author":[{"given":"Aleksandar","family":"Kopitovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 3 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Neurology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, 1-9 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8836-0921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Filip","family":"Katani\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 3 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sandro","family":"Kalember","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 3 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Svetlana","family":"Simi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 3 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Neurology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, 1-9 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Vico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 3 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Slobodan","family":"Sekuli\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, 3 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"},{"name":"Department of Neurology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, 1-9 Hajduk Veljkova Street, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,3,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"801971","article-title":"Bell\u2019s Palsy: Symptoms Preceding and Accompanying the Facial Paresis","volume":"2014","author":"Mancini","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sci. 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