In 180 samples of fungal ball sinusitis, GMS staining showed Aspergillus in 130, Mucor in 88, and Candida albicans in 6, while MUC5B immunohistochemical staining identified Aspergillus in 166, Mucor in 172, and Candida albicans in 16. The fungal detection rate for MUC5B immunohistochemical staining was markedly greater than that for GMS staining (p < 0.01). This implies that MUC5B immunohistochemical staining was more sensitive than GMS staining in identifying fungi in fungal ball sinusitis. Mixed infection of Aspergillus and Mucor was present in 146 of 180 patients (81.1%).

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The inner ear is a complex and difficult organ to study, and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a multifactorial sensorineural disorder with characteristics of impaired speech discrimination, recognition, sound detection, and localization. Till now, SNHL is recognized as an incurable disease because the potential mechanisms underlying SNHL have not been elucidated. The risk of developing SNHL is no longer viewed as primarily due to environmental factors. Instead, SNHL seems to result from a complicated interplay of genetic and environmental factors affecting numerous fundamental cellular processes. The complexity of SNHL is presented as an inability to make an early diagnosis at the earliest stages of the disease and difficulties in the management of symptoms during the process. To date, there are no treatments that slow the neurodegenerative process. In this article, we review the recent advances about SHNL and discuss the complexities and challenges of prevention and intervention of SNHL.