Joyce Maier wrote in response to me: >>The radio program I listened to (and it is a very reputable station) >>quoted from a letter by Beethoven himself where he links his deafness >>to a venereal infection. Either they or you are wrong. > >Do you recall which letter they talked about? Not exactly. I remember a quotation where Beethoven links his deafness to the condition of "mein Unterleib" (my abdomen). Robert