Earring of Deafness
This 1" round silver hoop earring looks like any ordinary earring except it has a small, barely noticeable tear drop shape at its base where it hangs down. It is so unnoticable in fact, that only under extremely close observation will the slight difference in its shape be detected with the naked eye. If detected by magical means, the earring will glow a faint magic.
This item is cursed. Any person or creature who wears it is immediately subjected to total deafness. No sound around the individual, no matter how loud it is or what the individual tries to do, can be heard. Communication with this individual will have to be accomplished by other means such as writing, sign language, lip reading, etc., assuming the person knows these particular abilities.
Also, any attempts at spell casting will have a 50% chance of failure since the individual is unable to hear himself say the words to a spell properly. This item does not effect psionics in any way, since the mind is used to cast and not the mouth and ears.
The effect of the item is similar to a silence spell, except that it lasts indefinitely or until the earring is removed. Nothing short of casting dispel magic or cutting off the ear will enable the wearer to remove the item. Once this is done, a remove curse still needs to be cast upon the individual to ensure that his hearing will be restored.
(c) John (Jake) Brunette 1996