Taking a stroll through Vienna, it is easy to come across commemorative plaques, statues and museums dedicated to Ludwing Van Beethoven. Beethoven, in fact, lived in Vienna for many years and built much of his success in this city. In Vienna, Beethoven died on March 26, 1829 and a plaque affixed to the walls of a church in Alserstrasse commemorates the day of the funeral, on the 29th of the same month.
As many know, Beethoven had become deaf at a very young age (between 25 and 35, although it is not possible to trace the exact period of his deafness). For a musician it was a huge problem. We tried to understand the causes of his deafness, making diagnoses starting from his manuscripts and his words. As reported in Beethoven’s Deafness, the Defiance of a Genius (Bento RF, 2009), one of the symptoms noted by Beethoven could be ascribed to tinnitus (with a squeak-like noise).
We have already dealt with tinnitus or tinnitus (they are synonyms) and we have described how the appearance of this annoying hearing problem can be a symptom of early dementia. This is not an isolated case. It is increasingly evident that the onset of tinnitus is accompanied by more general and disabling problems. For example, males should learn to listen to their body and understand its changes. Beware, because men suffering from tinnitus may have more intimate problems.
Typewriters, crickets and morse code
Tinnitus is the perception of a phantom sound in the absence of a corresponding external auditory stimulus. It is a scientific and clinical puzzle whose mechanisms are not entirely clear. Its manifestations are very heterogeneous, the sounds that are perceived change from patient to patient (squalls, whistles of different pitches and frequencies, sounds). One type of tinnitus is referred to as a typewriter because it is the analogy that patients use to describe the noises they hear. They also use, as a term of comparison, the sound of crickets, Morse code or machine gun.
For those who are not affected, imagine that you hear a noise that cannot be silenced in a persistent, continuous way, day and night, on vacation or at work. It is a debilitating symptom with important psychological effects as well.
Beware because men suffering from tinnitus may have more intimate problems
According to a recently published major study (Cheng YF et al, 2021), tinnitus in males is strongly associated with erectile dysfunction. It is a condition that affects the male reproductive system in men over 40 and can be considered a psychosomatic disease. In fact, it has important repercussions on interpersonal and family relationships, mood, quality of life and self-esteem.
Male hormones, especially testosterone, may play a role in the association between tinnitus and erectile dysfunction. In fact, receptors for hormones have been found not only in the reproductive system, but also in the inner ear. Furthermore, vascular and circulatory problems could affect both organs in their dysfunctions. The onset of tinnitus should therefore be reported to your doctor as a symptom of more general problems.
Finally: it would seem that Beethoven was suffering from otosclerosis as reported in the previous references. We don’t know if he was also suffering from erectile dysfunction.