Beethoven's Deafness

[KyleC]

i know Beethoven went deaf. i know he went deaf at a relatively young age but how young? and was he completely deaf? and if so how could he possibly know what he was composing sounded like? was he really that much of a genius or did he have some sort of trick?

[This message has been edited by KyleC (edited 07-21-2004).]

[Peter]

1796/8 : First signs of deafness

1801 : Complains of buzzing in ears in letter to Wegeler & Amenda

1802 : "Heiligenstadt testament" - Beethoven writes of his despair at worsening hearing

1814 : Further deterioration sets in. Last public appearence as pianist

1816-18 : Use of ear trumpets

1818-27 : Conversation books. (Conversation had to be written)

1823 : Almost totally deaf (left ear not as bad as right)

The cause of Beethoven's deafness is generally thought to have been Otosclerosis - the abnormal growth of bone of the inner ear. This bone prevents structures within the ear from working properly and causes hearing loss.
Otosclerosis is a disease, which results in new bone formation either in the area of the stapes bone or in the cochlea housing the hearing nerve; or it can be a combination of both. When the bony deposits infiltrate the stapes bone, this bone is unable to vibrate and pass the sound into the inner ear. This results in what is called a conductive hearing loss, i.e., the sound is not being properly "conducted" into the inner ear. As a general rule, the thicker the bony deposit the greater the hearing loss, and the longer the hearing loss, the greater is the amount of deposits. The fixation of the stapes usually follows a slow and relentless course with progressively worsening hearing.

Actually it isn't all that remarkable that Beethoven was able to compose without hearing (though he wasn't totally deaf until the very last years of his life) - any trained musician should be able to imagine sounds in their mind and then write them down. Berlioz insisted that using the piano as an aid to composition was the grave of originality.

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'Man know thyself'