The character can’t hear. Maybe he’s suffering intense tinnitus or can only hear the roaring of blood in his ears, or he just plain can’t hear.
Effect: If the character is deaf in one ear, he suffers a –3 penalty to hearing-based Perception rolls. A character who is struck deaf in both ears only gets a chance die on hearing-based Perception rolls, and suffers a –2 penalty to all combat-related dice rolls — suddenly losing the ability to hear the people around you is tremendously disorienting.
Causing the Tilt: A particularly loud noise within 10 feet of the character may cause temporary hearing loss as though the character were deaf in both ears. Alternatively, a targeted attack on the ear — at a –4 penalty — can deafen a character. Supernatural creatures with heightened senses can be deafened by loud noises at greater distances.
Ending the Tilt: Deafness from loud noises fades after 10 – (victim’s Stamina + Resolve) turns. If an attack against the character’s ear does any points of damage, mark an ‘x’ under the leftmost Health box inflicted in that attack. If the damage inflicted is aggravated, the character loses hearing in the ear permanently. Otherwise, the Condition ends when the damage that caused the Tilt is healed.