Robert Peters wrote: >... In a feature on my favourite German classical radio program someone >said that Beethoven himself saw the cause of his deafness in a venereal >disease. Was he right? Probably not. There has been alot of speculation on Beethoven having syphilis, but there was a recent analysis on some of Beethoven's hair, and it showed no traces of the chemicals used to treat syphilis at the time. There was, however, a large concentration of lead, which sggested that Beethoven suffered for a good deal of his life from lead poisoning. This explains some of the health problems, like stomach problems, and irritability that Beethoven experienced. I had a girlfriend who is a doctor that said Beethoven's symptoms directly correspond to a certain disease which gradually fuses the inner ear bones together over the course of many years. Today this condition is cured by replacing these tiny bones with plastic ones. It's still quite possible that in Beethoven's mind, he equated his deafness as a punishment for some sin he committed. But that is probably not what actually caused it. Mark http://www.LandsonMusic.com "It's not the audience's job to pay attention, it is the role of the artist to command attention!" - Mark Landson