House-Brackmann self-assessment
House-Brackmann is the scale clinicians use to describe how severe facial weakness is. Answer five questions in front of a mirror and you will have a grade you can take to your next appointment, and a baseline to measure against in a few weeks.
This is not a diagnosis, and it cannot tell you whether you have Bell's palsy. It grades a face that a doctor has already assessed. If your facial weakness came on suddenly and you have not been seen, please stop and get seen today. Sudden facial weakness can be a stroke, and no questionnaire can rule that out.
Your estimated grade
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Take this to your doctor
Your grade is one of two things that predict recovery. The other, and arguably the stronger, is how early movement starts returning. Ask them: "What grade would you give this, and what would you expect to see by week three?"
This is an estimate, not a clinical assessment. House-Brackmann was designed for a trained assessor observing your face, and grades vary even between clinicians. Nothing you entered left your device: this runs entirely in your browser and there is nowhere for it to be sent.
Common questions
What is the House-Brackmann scale?
It is the standard grading system clinicians use to describe how severe facial weakness is, running from Grade I (normal) to Grade VI (complete paralysis, no movement). It grades three things: how much your forehead moves, whether your eye closes, and how much your mouth moves. It gives everyone a shared vocabulary and a way to track change over time.
What is Stage 4 Bell’s palsy?
There is no Stage 4, because Bell’s palsy has no stages. People are usually thinking of House-Brackmann Grade IV, which is a severity score rather than a stage on a ladder. Grade IV means obvious weakness with an eye that does not close fully. Nothing progresses toward a Stage 5, because there is not one.
Can I grade my own Bell’s palsy?
You can get a reasonable estimate, which is useful for describing your severity at an appointment and for tracking change over weeks. But House-Brackmann was designed for a clinician observing your face, and there is genuine variation even between trained assessors. Treat a self-assessment as a conversation starter with your doctor, not as a substitute for one.
Does my House-Brackmann grade predict my recovery?
Partly. Severity at its worst is one of two strong predictors. The other, and arguably more powerful, is how early movement starts returning: movement within the first three weeks points strongly toward a complete recovery even from a severe grade. So your grade is half the picture, not your prognosis.