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Anales de Otorrinolaringología Mexicana

2015, Number 4

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Otorrinolaringología 2015; 60 (4)

The deafness of Ludwig van Beethoven

Heras-Espinoza J

Language: Spanish
References: 23
Page: 265-275
PDF size: 399.25 Kb.


ABSTRACT

Over the years, many articles have been published mentioning a variety of diagnoses and clinical possibilities trying to explain the cause of deafness of the musician Ludwig van Beethoven; many of them have been accepted as possible aggregated causes and other, definitively, have not been demonstrated. This article reviews how was Medicine, specially Otology, in the time of Beethoven, mentioning the evidences about diseases of Beethoven, specially deafness and, according to the evidences, a clinical history was made including data of the autopsy of the temporal bones of the musician. Different treatments recommended by physicians that treated Beethoven are mentioned and an analysis of the causes of his deafness is made, according to the found evidences and what has been documented in world literature since 200 years ago, specially that published recently.


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