Beethoven

Beethoven had a bad temper and poor manors, which didn't help his poor self-esteem, and also made him an undesirable student. He was unsatisfied with his teachers and they too felt the same way about him. "Haydn admiring Beethoven's genius could not understand or tolerate the young man's undisciplined ways and boorish manners." (Ewen, 1966, pg. 30).
             The ill tempered young man soon made his name known by performing music for the elite social class and nobility. He gave clavier lessons to the wealthy and "he not only considered himself the equal of high-born benefactors but was insulting, bumptious, and rude to them, his patrons tolerated his storm and moods for the sake of his undeniable brilliance." ( Ewen, 1966, pg. 30) He took the audience by surprise during his first public performance. "With his improvisations and the B-flat major Piano Concerto he was able to silence his critics and overwhelm the audience." ( Ewen, 1966, pg. 30).
             Beethoven started to loose his hearing in his left ear possibly before he was 28. We do know that his left ear was the first to go and then it soon followed into the right ear. Rumors stir that his deafness occurred from the many beating he received from his .
             father, but most likely was caused from a severe case of Typhoid fever that occurred in his childhood. "Infectious diseases often have lastingly affects various nerves, and the acoustic nerve is highly sensitive to the toxins of such diseases." (Nettl, 1956, pg. 39) Continuous buzzing and humming that he would hear in his ears would stress him out and make him extremely worried. Those emotions made him want to keep his disability away from even his close friends; people at that time were not understanding of it. (Not that everyone is in the present.) Although he was scared and worried about losing his hearing, he was never convinced that he would loose it forever, and always thought a cure would be found.