Beethoven’s Hearing Loss Leads Researchers to a New Finding 200 Years Later

The irony that one of the greatest musicians of his time and thereafter was deaf by his mid-40s has become rather well-known. However, much of the illness that led to Ludwig van Beethoven’s hearing loss has remained a mystery.
Just before his death, Beethoven attached locks of his hair to a letter asking his brothers to share his condition with the public, in hopes that it would help educate the masses. “Our primary goal was to shed light on Beethoven’s health problems, which famously include progressive hearing loss, beginning in his mid- to late-20s and eventually leading to him being functionally deaf by 1818,” said biochemist Johannes Krause, a scientist studying the contents of the letter.
After some careful investigation, the hair has not only brought some of Beethoven’s illness to light, but also his family lineage…