Scientists from the Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology of the Max Planck Society analyzed DNA extracted from Ludwig van Beethoven's hair and were able to determine what the great composer was sick with. A quarter of a century before his death, Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers asking them to find out what caused his condition, reports Science Alert..

It's no secret that by the age of 40 the great composer lost his hearing.. Therefore, he really wanted the world to understand the reason for his deafness.. And 200 years after Beethoven's death, a group of scientists decided to carry out his will in a way that he never even dreamed of: through DNA analysis..

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Even his doctor, Johann Adam Schmidt, could not find the main cause of Beethoven's hearing loss.. The illness began with tinnitus, gradually changed into a reduced tolerance for loud noise and eventually high-frequency hearing loss, effectively ending his career as a performing artist.. This was a great tragedy for the musician, in a letter to his brothers he wrote that he was “hopelessly distressed” to the point that he was thinking about suicide..

Beethoven suffered more than just hearing loss. Closer to 30 years old, he experienced frequent abdominal pain and suffered from bouts of diarrhea.. Six years before his death, the first signs of liver disease appeared, a disease believed to have caused his death at the relatively young age of 56..

In 2007, scientists conducted a study on a strand of hair that was thought to belong to Beethoven.. It showed that lead poisoning may have hastened his death and may have caused most of the symptoms.. But later it became known that it was not Beethoven's hair, but an unknown woman..

But in a new study, scientists examined several strands that clearly belonged to the composer.. They showed that his death was likely related to the hepatitis B virus, aggravated by heavy drinking and multiple risk factors for liver disease..

But despite the answers, the study also raises new questions..

It is not known how Beethoven contracted hepatitis. Why a strand of women's hair was considered the composer's hair? Why Beethoven had stomach pains and lost his hearing?

DNA also revealed other unexpected details. Further research comparing the Y chromosome in hair samples to those of modern relatives descended from Beethoven's paternal line indicates a discrepancy. It is likely that in the generations preceding the birth of the composer, there were several illegitimate children.