Beethoven and Disability

March 6, 2025
By: Noel Morris ©️2025

Ludwig van Beethoven was 26 when he first noticed ringing in his ear. In the coming years, the problem grew worse. Eventually, he lost his ability to perceive higher frequencies and, by the 1824 premiere of the Ninth Symphony, stood unaware of the thundering ovation erupting behind him. Nevertheless, as late as 1825 (two years before his death), an eye-witness commented, “He can hear a little if you halloo quite close to his left ear.”

Today, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn displays a collection of assistive listening devices used by the composer, including copper ear trumpets made for him in 1813 by inventor Johann Nepomuk Maelzel. In addition, the museum owns an 1825 instrument built by piano maker Conrad Graf with a second soundboard and ear-trumpet attachment. Beethoven also used a modified piano with a rod attached to the soundboard—when he bit down on the rod, the vibrations traveled through his jawbone to the inner ear.

During his last decade, Beethoven carried a blank notebook so people could write messages to him. Today, the conversation books serve as a precious window into the composer’s life and mind.