In Classical Music: what was the real medical diagnosis of Ludwig van Beethoven's deafness?

I think it was a condition that could readily be cured in modern day medicine (surgery). Asked by goldie080 47 months ago Similar questions: Classical Music real medical diagnosis Ludwig van Beethoven's deafness Entertainment > Music.

Similar questions: Classical Music real medical diagnosis Ludwig van Beethoven's deafness.

As far as I know, there was none In Beethoven’s day, the medical diagnosis for deafness was deafness. There is no evidence of which I am aware that he had any sort of official medial diagnosis. I know that he suffered from tinnitus for most of his adult life making it difficult for him to engage in conversation, let alone hear and enjoy music.

Tinnitus (a profound incessant ringing in the ears) is common in musicians and there is no cure or treatment. It is caused by damage to the cilia in the ear. An entire generation of iPod addicts are likely to suffer from profound hearing loss and tinnitus.

There is speculation that a virus of some kind may have contributed to his hearing loss. Some scholars have also suggested that he died from lead poisoning that began in his twenties. This lead poisoning may have also contributed to his deafness.It is interesting to speculate what the Classical music world would be like had Beethoven not been deaf.

S Ninth Symphony is a masterpiece--it is the canonical masterwork of our time--and the man who created it never heard it. To listen to the Ninth with that kind of perspective is truly awe-inspiring. This image of perseverance and conquered obstacles has contributed to Beethoven’s larger-than-life demigod status.

Would he have preferred to not be deaf? Certainly. But where would we be without our Beethoven?

Sources: my knowledge, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven lily210's Recommendations Ludwig van Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies - Arturo Toscanini / NBC Symphony Orchestra Amazon List Price: $29.98 Used from: $18.92 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 20 reviews) lily210's Recommendations Ode to Freedom: Bernstein Conducts Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Berlin Amazon List Price: $16.98 Used from: $3.65 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 25 reviews) .

Yes, and no... According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven), he "suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music..."Now tinnitus itself, according to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus), "is not itself a disease but a symptom resulting from a range of underlying causes, including ear infections, foreign objects or wax in the ear, and injury from loud noises. Tinnitus is also a side-effect of some oral medications, such as aspirin, and may also result from an abnormally low level of serotonin activity. "There are several treatments for the condition ,but there is no specific cure at this time.

However, it seems likely that Beethoven's condition could have been improved with modern medical treatments. Hope this helps Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven" rel="nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven .

Tinnitus (a form of ringing in the ears) that eventually caused profound deafness I am an Interpreter for the Deaf and have several deaf friends who became profoundly deaf due to this kind of tinnitus. One in particular was able to use a customized hearing aid briefly, but eventually the hearing aid just made the tinnitus even worse and she was no longer able to use hearing aids and has been profoundly deaf since she was in college. It definitely hasn't hindered her in any way as she has a Bachelor's, Masters, and Ph.D.

Degrees all from a major university and has always been successful in all she has done. Here's a lot of background information on Beethoven and several sections down it discusses his hearing loss. Hope that's what you were looking for.

Have a great week! Ludwig van Beethoven From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820 Ludwig van Beethoven (English IPA: /? L?

Dv? G væn? Be?

To? V? N/; German IPA:?

Lu? Tv? Ç fan?

Be? Tho? Fn, (December 16, 1770 1 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and virtuoso pianist.

He was an important figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music, and remains one of the most famous and influential musicians of all time. Born in Bonn, Germany, he moved to Vienna, Austria, in his early twenties and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. Beethoven's hearing gradually deteriorated beginning in his twenties, yet he continued to compose masterpieces, and to conduct and perform, even after he was completely deaf.

Biography Further information: Life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven and Van Beethoven Family Early life and talent Kurfürstliches Schloss (Electoral Prince's Castle) in Bonn, where the Beethoven family had been active since the 1730s Beethoven's parents were Johann van Beethoven (1740 in Bonn –1792) and Maria Magdalena Keverich (1744 in Ehrenbreitstein–1787). Magdalena's father Johann Heinrich Keverich had been Chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier at Festung Ehrenbreitstein fortress opposite to Koblenz. Beethoven was, like their first child Ludwig Maria, named after his father's father Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–1773), a musician of Roman Catholic Flemish ancestry who was at one time Kapellmeister at the court of Clemens August of Bavaria, the Prince-Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, and who married Beethoven's grandmother Maria Josepha Ball (1714–1775) in 1733.

Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770. Of the seven children born to Johann Beethoven, himself the only survivor of three, only second-born Ludwig and two younger brothers survived infancy. Beethoven was baptized on December 17, 1770.

Although his birth date is not known for certain, his family celebrated his birthday on December 16. A portrait of the thirteen-year-old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn master Beethoven's first music teacher was his father, who was a tenor in the service of the Electoral court at Bonn. He was reportedly a harsh instructor.

Johann later engaged a friend, Tobias Pfeiffer, to preside over his son's musical training, and it is said Johann and his friend would at times come home late from a night of drinking to pull young Ludwig out of bed to practice until morning. Beethoven's talent was recognized at a very early age, and by 1778 he was studying the organ and viola in addition to the piano. S most important teacher in Bonn was Christian Gottlob Neefe, who was the Court's Organist.

Neefe helped Beethoven publish his first composition: a set of keyboard variations. In 1787, the young Beethoven traveled to Vienna for the first time, in hopes of studying with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is not clear whether he succeeded in meeting Mozart, or if he did whether Mozart was willing to accept him as a pupil; see Mozart and Beethoven.In any event, the declining health of Beethoven's mother, dying of tuberculosis, forced him to return home after only about two weeks in Vienna.

Beethoven's mother died on July 17, 1787, when Beethoven was 16. Due to his father's worsening alcohol addiction, Beethoven became responsible for raising his two younger brothers. The move to Vienna In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied for a time with Joseph Haydn: his hopes of studying with Mozart had been shattered by Mozart's death the previous year.

Beethoven received additional instruction from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (Vienna's pre-eminent counterpoint instructor) and Antonio Salieri. By 1793, Beethoven established a reputation in Vienna as a piano virtuoso. S first works with opus numbers, a set of three piano trios, appeared in December 16, 1770 13.

He settled into the career pattern he would follow for the remainder of his life: rather than working for the church or a noble court (as most composers before him had done), he supported himself through a combination of annual stipends or single gifts from members of the aristocracy; income from subscription concerts, concerts, and lessons; and proceeds from sales of his works. Beethoven’s patrons loved his music but were not quick to support him. He eventually came to rely more on patrons such as Count Franz Joseph Kinsky, (d.

1811), Prince Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz (1772-1816) and Karl Alois Johann-Nepomuk Vinzenz, Fürst Lichnowsky, and as these patrons passed away or reneged on their pledges, Beethoven fell into debt. In 1807, Prince Lobkowitz advised Beethoven to apply for the position of composer of the Imperial Theatres, but the nobility who had newly been placed in charge of the post did not respond. Beethoven considered leaving Vienna: in the fall of December 16, 1770 17, he was offered a position as chapel maestro at the court of Jerome Bonaparte, the king of Westphalia, which he accepted.

To persuade him to stay in Vienna, the Archduke Rudolf, Count Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, after receiving representations from the composer’s friends, pledged to pay Beethoven a pension of December 16, 1770 18 florins a year. Only Archduke Rudolf paid his share of the pension on the agreed date. Kinsky, immediately called to duty as an officer, did not contribute and soon died after falling from his horse.

Lobkowitz stopped paying in September 1811. No successors came forward to continue the patronage, and Beethoven relied mostly on selling composition rights and a smaller pension after 1815. Loss of hearing Beethoven in December 16, 1770 19 Around 1796, Beethoven began to lose his hearing.

He suffered a severe form of tinnitus, a "ringing" in his ears that made it hard for him to perceive and appreciate music; he also avoided conversation. He lived for a time in the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside Vienna. Here he wrote his Heiligenstadt Testament, which records his resolution to continue living for and through his art.

Over time, his hearing loss became profound: there is a well-attested story that, at the end of the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, he had to be turned around to see the tumultuous applause of the audience; hearing nothing, he began to weep. Beethoven's hearing loss did not prevent his composing music, but it made concerts—lucrative sources of income—increasingly difficult. Beethoven used a special rod attached to the soundboard on a piano that he could bite—the vibrations would then transfer from the piano to his jaw to increase his perception of the sound.

A large collection of his hearing aids such as special ear horns can be viewed at the Beethoven House Museum in Bonn, Germany. By 1814 Beethoven was totally deaf, and when visitors saw him play a loud arpeggio or thundering bass notes at his piano remarking, "Ist es nicht schön?" (Isn't that beautiful? ), they felt deep sympathy, and saw his courage and sense of humor.

Ludwig van Beethoven: detail of an 1804 portrait by W.J. Mähler As a result of Beethoven's hearing loss, a unique historical record has been preserved: his conversation books. S friends wrote in the book so that he could know what they were saying, and he then responded either verbally or in the book. The books contain discussions about music and other issues, and give insights into his thinking; they are a source for investigation into how he felt his music should be performed, and also his perception of his relationship to art.

Some of the conversation books were altered or destroyed after Beethoven's death by Anton Schindler Illness and death After Beethoven lost custody of his nephew, he went into a decline that led to his death on March 26, 1827 during a thunderstorm. Romain Rolland's description Beethoven’s final day: "That day was tragic. There were heavy clouds in the sky… around 4 or 5 in the afternoon the murky clouds cast darkness in the entire room.

Suddenly a terrible storm started, with blizzard and snow… thunder made the room shudder, illuminating it with the cursed reflection of lightning on snow. Beethoven opened his eyes and with a threatening gesture raised his right arm towards the sky with his fist clenched. The expression of his face was horrifying.

S hand fell to the ground. Beethoven was no more. " A Viennese pathologist and forensic expert Christian Reiter (head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna Medical University) claimed that Beethoven's physician, Andreas Wawruch, inadvertently hastened Beethoven's death.

According to Reiter, Wawruch worsened Beethoven's already lead poisoned condition with lead poultices applied after repeated surgical draining of his bloated abdomen. Various theories attempt to explain how Beethoven's lead poisoning first developed, and he was very sick years before his death in December 16, 1770 17 at the age of 56. Reiter's hypothesis however is at odds with Wawruch's written instruction "that the wound was kept dry all the time".

Furthermore human hair is a very bad biomarker for lead contamination and Reiter's hypothesis must be considered dubious, because of the lack of proper scholarly documentation in his article. Character Beethoven's personal life was troubled. S encroaching deafness led him to contemplate suicide (documented in his Heiligenstadt Testament).

Beethoven was often irascible, and may have suffered from bipolar disorder, and irritability brought on by chronic abdominal pain beginning in his 20s which has been attributed to his lead poisoning. He nevertheless had a close and devoted circle of friends all his life, thought to have been attracted by his reputed strength of personality. Towards the end of his life, Beethoven's friends competed in their efforts to help him cope with his incapacities.

Sources show Beethoven's disdain for authority, and for social rank. He stopped performing at the piano if the audience chatted among themselves, or afforded him less than their full attention. At soirées, he refused to perform if suddenly called upon to do so.

Eventually, after many confrontations, the Archduke Rudolph decreed that the usual rules of court etiquette did not apply to Beethoven. Sources: www.Wikipedia.com, www.beethoven.com .

Kurfürstliches Schloss (Electoral Prince's Castle) in Bonn, where the Beethoven family had been active since the 1730s.

A portrait of the thirteen-year-old Beethoven by an unknown Bonn master.

Detail of an 1804 portrait by W.J. Mähler.

" "Question for classical music fans" "Where can I find classical music DVD's.

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Looking for the music from the HBO "Classical Baby" Series.

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