In 1907, Dr James Ramsay Hunt, an American neurologist, described in the syndrome of herpes zoster associated with facial palsy as Ramsay (often misspelled as Ramsey) Hunt syndrome II. A great part of the illness is Bell's palsy which itself has many causal factors and is the most common form of facial paralysis worldwide.

It has been seen that Bells palsy and Ramsay Hunt syndrome can occur at the same time but one does not necessary lead to an occurrance of the other nor are they caused by the same virus. For example, the Herpes simplex virus type 1 is found to be present in Bells palsy patients but not in Ramsay Hunt syndrome subjects. The latter are known to be affected by the varicella-zoster virus which causes shingles and is the very same virus that triggers chickenpox.

Early misdiagnosis is common but treatment methods are similar in both cases although the useful effect of steriods is currently being questioned in many medical journals. The clearest indication of a Ramsay Hunt syndrome case is the presence of lesions or blisters on the pinner of the ear leading to the eventual facial paralysis. Other symptoms are apparent but these will be discussed further in this section.