How did deafness affect Ludwig van Beethoven’s career as a performer?

As Ludwig van Beethoven’s hearing loss became permanent and progressive, his career as a virtuoso performer was significantly curtailed. Although he initially continued to perform in public and in the homes of the nobility, his playing began to degenerate as his ability to hear diminished.1

By 1802, Beethoven realized his condition was incurable, a realization that led him to write the "Heiligenstadt Testament." While he continued to make occasional public appearances for some time, his days as a professional virtuoso were numbered. By approximately 1819, his deafness became total, necessitating the use of conversation books for communication. Consequently, Beethoven shifted his primary focus away from performance and toward composing, spending much of his time in villages near Vienna to develop his musical ideas.1