In December 1770, in Bonn, Germany, a poor family welcomed a newborn baby, his name was Beethoven, and he later became a world-renowned musical giant. When it comes to this great man, it is well known that in the most glorious period of his life, he suffered a great misfortune - deafness. So why is Beethoven deaf?
In 1787, Beethoven set foot on Vienna soil and was carefully mentored by masters such as Mozart, and the young court musician quickly refined his skills and became famous, befriending many people in the upper echelons of society, and becoming a master on a par with Mozart. In 1792, he returned to Vienna and composed a series of masterpieces that shocked the music scene, winning the Le Saint crown.
However, in just two years, Beethoven began to lose his hearing, at first with indistinguishable treble, then with muffled bass, until he finally became completely deaf. What is the reason for this? It may not be what you think. For example, the dreaded syphilis. Even today, we can still see advertisements in public toilets, which shows how harmful they are, let alone in the era of 1792.
Given Beethoven's remarkable achievements, many writings claim that he never married, and some even outright call him a virgin. But how did a virgin get this unspeakable disease? For hundreds of years, many experts have hypothesized that Beethoven may have had congenital syphilis, which in turn caused him to become deaf. However, Beethoven's letters in his later years repudiated this view.
Those who know about syphilis may know that this condition is very good at camouflage, and once infected, it can cause a variety of complications, such as tinnitus and deafness. Beethoven's deafness appeared around the end of 1793.
In 1787, he was only a student of Mozart, but by 1793, Beethoven had become a recognized saint of music, and even princes and nobles vied with him as a teacher. As his social status grew, the former poor maestro began to indulge himself, frequenting the fireworks lands of Europe, where he unfortunately contracted syphilis. Eventually, the condition not only caused him to become deaf, but it also drove him crazy and depressed.
In his later years, Beethoven repeatedly referred to the land of fireworks in Europe in his letters to his friends, and unabashedly expressed his hatred for the people there. In his letter, he wrote: "Enjoy life, but do not indulge in carnal desires", and even bluntly referred to those establishments as stinking fortresses. It was precisely because of syphilis that he not only became deaf, but also made him unmarried for life, and finally died of depression.