We continue our series of articles in which we learn about Beethoven’s deafness. We have already seen in an earlier piece that Beethoven was not born deaf, but later became one. This article investigates if he was deaf in both ears or just one.
Beethoven was not born deaf, but lost his hearing continuously from about the age of 27, as a result of a disease or birth defect – unknown to this day.
The problem was not caused, but it was triggered by an accident, in which the composer fell and hit himself. From this point (roughly 1798) the hearing troubles began.
The symptoms initially did not appear continuously and not equally in both ears. Hearing loss had started and was stronger in Beethoven’s left ear, but this initial difference later disappeared and for 1816, practically he had completely lost his hearing in both ears.
The disease manifested itself not only in hearing loss, but also in buzzing sounds, which at times tormented him without stopping.
Many inaccurately confuse Beethoven with the painter Van Gogh and think that Beethoven cut off his own ear. That is not true, Beethoven did not cut off his ear, but the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh did.
For more articles on Beethoven’s deafness, click here and continue reading!
