Danny Casolaro's Tape Recorder

Origin
Joseph Daniel Casolaro (1947 - 1991) was an American freelance writer who was found dead of apparent suicide. However later, due to arguments of his family, local police looked into it discovering a safety security box with several reports penned by Casolaro along with a tape recorder. The notes suggested that he was in Martinsburg to meet a source about a story he called "the Octopus". This article was about the Inslaw case, about a software manufacturer whose CEO accused the Justice Department of stealing its work. Along with the October Surprise, a theory that during the Iran hostage crisis, Iran deliberately held back American hostages to help Ronald Reagan win the 1980 presidential election. Both reports dictated that on the tape recorder was proof of both circumstances, however no one could collaborate since Casolaro's paranoia was infused into the tape recorder. Making government agents deaf and non-government contractors grew too paranoid to share the secrets with anyone.

Effects
Extreme paranoia may ensue, along with dangerous changes in blood chemistry. When anyone with ties to the government listens to it they are rendered deaf for ten hours.