One of the most well-known facts about Beethoven is that he was deaf. It’s hard to imagine how much this affected him. For anyone, losing a sense is difficult. But, for a musician, whose life was based on experiencing sound, becoming deaf was devastating.

Beethoven began losing his hearing around 1798 when he was still relatively young, only 28 years old. Beethoven attributed the start of his hearing problems to a fit he had over a disagreement with a singer with whom he was working. His hearing faded slowly over time and he also had a severe case of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. In 1801 Beethoven wrote letters to several friends describing his hearing problems and how it made it difficult to work and to be around others. It became increasingly difficult for Beethoven to understand what people were saying when he was in a crowded room. Although he acknowledged these issues in his letters, his friends had probably already noticed the changes in Beethoven.

In 1802 Beethoven followed his doctor’s advice and moved to the small town of Heiligenstadt (hi-lig-in-sh-tot), Austria just outside of Vienna. He spent six months there from April to October. During his time away from Vienna, Beethoven tried to come to terms with what losing his hearing would mean to his professional life. While there, he wrote a lengthy letter to his younger brothers, Karl and Johann. In the document, called the Heiligenstadt Testament, Beethoven wrote about his thoughts and feelings about becoming deaf. At one point in the letter, he was so despondent, he contemplated suicide. By the end of the letter, Beethoven had decided he was going to live his life and face whatever fate dealt him. He vowed to live through and for his art. Although this is one of the most personal documents Beethoven ever wrote, he never sent it to his brothers. It was discovered among his papers after his death in 1827.

From 1815-1819 Beethoven composed very few pieces. He was sick for more than a year and had ongoing legal problems with his family (See “Beethoven’s Family” in Scene One). He did write a few works, including the Piano Sonata No. 29 in B Flat Major, Hammerklavier, and wrote some ideas that he would later use in his Ninth Symphony. By 1818, Beethoven was finally feeling better; however, over the course of his illness his hearing had deteriorated even further. By now, even the ear-trumpets were not helping. In order to communicate with people, Beethoven used notebooks to write to friends. These “conversation books” are a valuable resource that tell us a lot about Beethoven and his life. Some of the conversations are everyday events detailing visits from friends and household maintenance. Others however tell us about Beethoven’s thoughts on music as an art form and give specific instructions about how he intended his music to be performed.

Over the last decade of his life, Beethoven continued to compose. He finished several large works including the Diabelli Variations and Missa Solemnis. He was often sick for extended periods of time, but continued to work, even when ill. He also completed his final symphony. The Ninth Symphony was performed in Vienna for the first time on May 7, 1824. Beethoven stood next to the orchestra director Michael Umlauf during the performance. Beethoven beat time to lead the orchestra, even though he couldn’t hear much, if any, of the music. Umlauf had already warned the orchestra and chorus to ignore Beethoven during the concert. At the end, someone had to turn Beethoven around so that he could witness the applause, since he couldn’t hear it. It must have been an amazing thing to witness, not only the premiere of perhaps the greatest symphony in history, but the human moment when Beethoven turned around and saw the reception to his work.