In the last decade of Beethoven’s life (he died at 56), his deafness was complete, so music could reside only in his imagination. As his hearing deteriorated, he was less influenced by the prevailing compositional fashions, and more by the musical structures forming inside his own head. Deafness freed Beethoven as a composer because he no longer had society’s soundtrack in his ears. How might this loss set you free? You might finally define yourself in new ways, free from the boundaries you set for yourself based on the expectations of others.