On a stormy Monday in March, 1827, the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven passed away after a protracted illness.

Bedridden since the previous Christmas, he was ravaged by jaundice, his limbs and abdomen swollen, and every breath a struggle.

As his associates sorted through personal belongings, they uncovered a document Beethoven had written a quarter of a century earlier – a will beseeching his brothers to make details of his condition known to the public.

Today it is no secret that one of the greatest musicians the world has ever known was functionally deaf by his mid-40s.

It was a tragic irony Beethoven wished the world understood, not just from a personal perspective, but a medical one.

The composer would outlive his doctor by nearly two decades, yet close to two centuries af

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