beethoven's deafness

[pianonut]

does anyone know more about what caused his deafness (nowdays).  i have read a lot of older stuff (thayer, etc.) but are there some medical journals out there that explain this in modern day terminology?  in some letters, beethoven refers to what he has as a disease - and other places - related to some bowel troubles.  the treatments were worse than the cure most of the time.  he had to have tree bark put on his arms for two months?!  (daphne mezereum bark)  can you imagine the discomfort - and how could he write.  poor fellow.

[pianonut]

the last journal article i read (just now) said that sarcoidosis was more likely than syphillis.  also, people thought he had cirrosis of the liver, but in fact he had many many problems that went together (like lupus).  and, different people have different reactions with the disease, but almost all go deaf fairly early on.

are there any other ideas?  i just read about a book by 'davies?' does anyone have this book.  are his ideas different?  i am supposed to write a paper on this topic.

[pianonut]

well, for anyone who is interested, i just finished a journal article saying "yes, it was sarcoidosis."  poor Beethoven.  if he had lived today, he would have been treated with a regimen of corticosteroids.

the Heiligenstadt testament tells of a 'litaney of fevers, infections and abscesses, bronchitis, rheumatism, anxiety, bouts of prostration from severe abdominal pain and colic.  you would never know this from the 9th symphony (written 3 years before he died) or the last four quartets (including the Grosse fugue, which stravinsky acknowledged as being eternally contemporary) that he was in so much pain.

[pianonut]

ps  dr. palferman said that beethoven was closer to an ascetic than an alcoholic and found his autopsy results 'the description of the liver was quite unlike what one would expect from a cirrhotic liver from alcohol.'  so - the widely held view that Beethoven (the son of a heavy drinker) was himself a drinker and his death due to cirrhosis of the liver, is unfounded.

sarcoidosis is like lupus (a puzzling systematic disease) that can affect many parts of the body. 

[bernhard]

Yes.

Russell Martin “Beethoven’s Hair” (Bloomsbury)

Besides being a good read – puts forward (and pretty much proves) the theory that Beethoven suffered from chronic lead poisoning, caused by drinking wine in lead cups.

Here are the symptoms of chronic lead poisoning:

Gastrointestinal distress, abdominal cramping, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, gout , rheumatic complaints, jaundice, headaches, loss of appetite irritability, forgetfulness, erratic behaviour, clumsiness caused by the partial paralysis of the extensor muscles in the arms and legs visual deficits and progressive loss of hearing

All of which were exhibited by Beethoven.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[Jacey1973]

Yes.

Russell Martin “Beethoven’s Hair” (Bloomsbury)

Besides being a good read – puts forward (and pretty much proves) the theory that Beethoven suffered from chronic lead poisoning, caused by drinking wine in lead cups.

Here are the symptoms of chronic lead poisoning:

Gastrointestinal distress, abdominal cramping, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, gout , rheumatic complaints, jaundice, headaches, loss of appetite irritability, forgetfulness, erratic behaviour, clumsiness caused by the partial paralysis of the extensor muscles in the arms and legs visual deficits and progressive loss of hearing

All of which were exhibited by Beethoven.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

Oh did anyone seen that recent documentary on BBC 2 i think called "Beethoven's hair"?