The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the temporal bone of the skull with a system of passages comprising two main functional parts:
In a laboratory setting, HIV has been kept alive for as long as 15 days after the body fluid has dried, but this was controlled at a stable temperature and humidity that would be nearly impossible to reproduce in the natural world.
ART significantly extends the likelihood of surviving for several decades, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. If untreated, HIV-positive persons typically live in clinical latency for around 10 years. Individuals on ART are not likely to have their HIV infection reach the AIDS stage. If the viral infection progresses to that stage, survival is estimated at around three years.