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Now, a new investigation of two locks of hair previously authenticated as Beethoven's own has confirmed that the composer really was likely suffering the effects of lead poisoning – although the exposure was not enough to kill him. For an added layer of certainty for skeptical minds, the Halm-Thayer lock is one of only two where historians know it was sourced by Beethoven himself; records show the composer hand-delivered the lock to pianist Anton Halm in April 1826.The Bermann lock had a lead concentration 64 times higher than the upper limit of what's considered typical for an otherwise healthy person, while the Halm-Thayer lock had a lead concentration 95 times greater than that reference range.
"Such lead levels are commonly associated with gastrointestinal and renal ailments and decreased hearing but are not considered high enough to be the sole cause of death," Rifai and colleaguesBeethoven's exposure to lead is easily explained by the culture of drinking from lead vessels and medical treatments involving lead used in Beethoven's time. The new measurements, from verified samples, give us greater confidence in how that lead exposure likely affected his health.
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