Justin Bieber shares he has Ramsay Hunt syndrome

Ramsay Hunt syndrome can cause facial paralysis and hearing loss 

Justin Bieber on Friday shared the reason he is taking a break from performing, telling his Instagram followers that he has been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, Qazet.az reports.

The syndrome "occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of your ears," according to the Mayo Clinic. "In addition to the painful shingles rash, Ramsay Hunt syndrome can cause facial paralysis and hearing loss in the affected ear."

Shingles, and by extension Ramsay Hunt, are caused by the virus that causes chickenpox. Those who get the syndrome had chickenpox when they were younger.

In his speaking, Bieber described it as a "virus that attacks the nerve in my ear and my facial nerves and has caused my face to have paralysis."

"As you can see, this eye is not blinking," he said in the video, pointing to his face. "I can't smile on this side of my face. This nostril will not move. So there's full paralysis on this side of my face."