[Was Beethoven's deafness caused by Paget's disease? Report of findings and study of skull fragments of Ludwig van Beethoven].

Paget's disease of bone (osteitis deformans) has been repeatedly named as a possible cause for Ludwig van Beethoven's deafness. In 1985 a descendent of Franz Romeo Seligmann (a Viennese medical historian who in 1863 had studied Beethoven's mortal remains on the occasion of their relocation) presented to us three bone fragments allegedly from Beethoven's cranium. They represented fragments of the left parietal bone and the occiputum. It was possible to prove nearly with certainty that these bone fragments actually are Beethoven's. They did not show signs of Paget's disease of bone. It must therefore be concluded that Beethoven's deafness was not caused by Paget's osteitis deformans.