Doctor Curmudgeon® The Sound of Snoring
By Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D. FAAP Doctor Eisman is in Family Practice in Aventura, Florida with her partner, Dr. Eugene Eisman, an internist/cardiologist
It sounded a lot like Brahms’ Lullaby.
The keys on the antique and venerable Starck baby grand came to life as they were tickled by two kittens.
I have two female cousins, adorable kittens, who occasionally spend weekends with us.
As they played on this happily quiet and lazy afternoon, I thought about the brilliant composer, Johannes Brahms.
This incredible man was a virtuoso at the piano (the kittens however have not yet attained virtuoso status).
It has been hypothesized that Brahms suffered from a condition known as sleep apnea (a serious condition of interrupted breathing during sleep, wherein blood levels of oxygen can become seriously low, depriving the brain of oxygen).
Dr. Mitchell Margolis wrote about Brahms in “Chest,” the aptly named journal of the American College of Chest Physicians: “The composer’s eventual physical attributes also correspond to those of a typical OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) patient, particularly his obesity and thick neck. Extensive lifelong alcohol consumption comprises a likely and familiar exacerbating factor.”
Brahms was tired all the time. In Vienna, he was frequently seen in one of his favorite cafes, asleep in his chair. Daytime sleepiness: is a symptom of sleep apnea.
Known to be a prodigious eater, he was obese. His tremendous girth forced him to sit about a foot away from the piano.
His neck was quite large and he wore shirts that had no collars.
And it is known that his alcohol consumption was considerable and regular; as he was commonly seen in his favorite pubs drinking whiskey, cognac and jugs of beer.
Dr. Margolis, a pulmonologist also noted a comment by George Henschel, a baritone who had traveled with the composer. Henschel noted that Brahms’ snoring was so horrible that he could not sleep in a room they shared. He said that if he had stayed it “would mean death to any hope of sleep on my part.”
The kittens have stopped playing (actually quite well). As they began their usual activity of chasing each other all over the house, mewing as loudly as their little throats allow, I thought other famous figures who had been thought to have sleep apnea.
There was Winston Churchill ,Henry the VIII, and even Queen Victoria.
Poor Brahms had so many documented symptoms of sleep apnea:
Obesity
Snoring
Tired all the time
And there was a change in his personality.
People with sleep apnea are sometimes described as irritable. Once on leaving a party, Brahms was believed to have said, “If there is anyone here I have not offended I apologize.”
Dr. Curmudgeon suggests “Bitter Medicine”, Dr. Eugene Eisman’s story of his experiences–from the humorous to the intense—as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.
Bitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. –on Amazon
Doctor Curmudgeon® is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.
SERMO www.sermo.com
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