[log in to unmask] writes:

>Beethoven complained about the tinnitus, but also complained about plain
>hearing loss, in the beginning (from about 1796) high-pitched tones in
>particular, but since as late as 1825 he was able to hear a very young
>child screaming I often wonder what had happened in the meantime.  These at
>first sight conflicting facts surely are very intriguing, medically spoken.

To use your math: 29 years is plenty of time to lose most of your hearing.
To hear a child scream (scream you say) at the end of his life, I would
not think unusual for Beethoven.  How good the quality was is a different
matter.  What happened in the meantime:  gradual deterioration from mild
nerve loss to severe loss.  It happens all the time.  You do not even need
to bring lead into it.  Hearing loss can fluctuate and I know people who
tell me they have their good days all the while their hearing is slowly
getting worse.  But there are some whose mild to moderate nerve loss stays
the same for years.  Why? The ear specialists do not really know.

I believe there are some stories in B's hearing life that may not
reflect his actual condition.  Let's say a visitor reports that B heard
his conservation if he "yells" but six months before he had to write in
his conversation book because B had more difficulty hearing him.  Why? Is
his hearing getting better? Is he having one of his good periods? Or maybe
B was physically+mentally exhausted six months before to truly give his
visitor his precious hearing time.  And by the way, to strain yourself to
hear can exhaust you if your hearing is bad.  Maybe Beethoven, more often
than not, use the conservation books to conserve his energy for mental
composing? And on and ona - ? To me, I realized this is a guessing game.
When B hearing loss worsen in 1816 as you say, was it the lead? Natural
or not? Well, not unusual anyway.

Glenn Miller