In his last years Smetana became totally deaf. He was suffering from syphilis. He heard horrible high squeaks in his ears a lot of the time. He showed this when composing his "String Quartet no 2": the first violin plays a very long high note for a long time in the last movement, showing the audience what he had to suffer. He became very depressed and his wife did not help by quarrelling a lot with him. It became painfully difficult for him to compose. In the end he was writing four bars a day. His mental state got worse. He was guarded all day in case he harmed himself. He did not recognize his own family. He was put in an asylum where he died shortly afterwards.