The estimated incidence of acute facial paralysis is approximately 30 patients per 100000 populations annually. Facial paralysis is an extremely frightening situation and gives extreme stress to patients because obvious disfiguring face may cause significant functional, aesthetic, and psychological disturbances. For stressful patients with acute facial paralysis, it is very important for clinicians to answer the questions like whether or not their facial function will return to normal, how much of their facial function will be recovered, and how long this is going to take. It is also important for clinicians to treat the psychological aspects by adequately explaining the prognosis, in addition to providing the appropriate medical treatment. For decades, clinicians have used various electrophysiologic tests, including the nerve excitability test, the maximal stimulation test, electroneurography, and electromyography. In particular, electroneurography is the only objective measure that is useful in early stage of acute facial paralysis. In this review article, we first discuss the pathophysiology of injured peripheral nerve. And then, we describe about various electrophysiologic tests and discuss the electroneurography extensively.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) and rhinosinusitis (RS) negatively impact psychological well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, few population-based studies have investigated the effects of these conditions on mental health and HRQoL. To explore independent associations of AR and/or RS with mental health and HRQoL using data from the 2013–2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The KNHANES is a nationwide cross-sectional survey of the non-institutionalized population of Korea. A total of 15,441 adults completed the clinical examination and the health questionnaire. We divided all participants into four groups: AR-/RS-, AR-/RS+, AR+/RS-, and AR+/RS+. Logistic regression analyses were performed after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, general health behaviors, and other comorbidities. The AR+/RS+ group contained the highest proportion of subjects with perceived stress and depressed mood. Subjects with AR+/RS+ also had more frequent problems in terms of pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. After adjusting for all confounders, the odds ratios (ORs) were 2.96 (p = 0.009) for depressed mood and 3.17 (p = 0.013) for suicidal ideation in the AR+/RS+ group compared with in the AR-/RS- group. The AR+/RS- group reported more perceived stress (OR, 1.56, p = 0.003) and depression (OR, 1.72, p = 0.024) compared with the AR-/RS- group. In terms of the ORs for HRQoL, the AR+/RS+ group reported more problems in terms of self-care (OR, 3.73, p = 0.038) and more pain/discomfort (OR 2.19, p = 0.006) compared with the AR-/RS- group. In the Korean population, AR and RS exerted a synergistic negative impact on mental health and HRQoL, especially suicidal ideation. Most patients seek help from clinicians for impaired HRQoL. Therefore, clinicians should consider the underlying mental health and HRQoL of patients with AR and/or RS, as these may be impaired by their conditions.