American actor Johnny Depp, right, poses for a photo with a woman that is receiving hearing devices in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Hollywood Vampires band are joining forces in Rio de Janeiro to provide more than 200 children and adults in need the gift of hearing in advance of the supergroupâs performance on the main stage at the Brazilian edition of Rock in Rio festival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The Associated Press
Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Joe Perry helped give people the gift of hearing while in Rio de Janeiro for the Rock in Rio music festival.
The artists, members of the Hollywood Vampires rock group, together with the Starkey Hearing Foundation and other celebrities, helped fit customized hearing devices on Thursday on 218 Rio residents of all ages, some of whom had lived in silence for most of their lives.
Depp who was accompanied by his wife, Amber Heard, described the experience as "moving."
Also present was Brazilian bossa nova legend Sergio Mendes.
Though a handful of residents with new hearing devices were to attend the Hollywood Vampires show Friday night, Cooper joked they should start by listening to something softer - like Mendes' songs.
Ana Maria Marques, who hadn't heard a single noise for years, said she was euphoric with her new hearing device and spoke clearly about the way she felt. Yet for the children who were born deaf, they will now have the opportunity to learn how to speak, explained William F. Austin, founder of the Starkey Hearing Technologies and Foundation.
"Children don't develop speech because the hearing must come first," Austin said.
Perry, who helped set up a hearing device for one of those children, said he had no words to describe the experience.
"The impact is astounding," he said. "So to make that available to kids whether they end up liking music or not doesn't matter, it's just the fact that they can hear again."
American musician Alice Cooper, right, puts a hearing device on a woman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Hollywood Vampires band are joining forces in Rio de Janeiro to provide more than 200 children and adults in need the gift of hearing in advance of the supergroupâs performance on the main stage at the Brazilian edition of Rock in Rio festival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The Associated Press
American actress Amber Heard, left, cries with Daniele Lopes, 32, after Daniele received a hearing device in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Hollywood Vampires band are joining forces in Rio de Janeiro to provide more than 200 children and adults in need the gift of hearing in advance of the supergroupâs performance on the main stage at the Brazilian edition of Rock in Rio festival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The Associated Press
American actor Johnny Depp, right, puts a hearing device in the ear of a child while his wife, the actress Amber Heard, left, puts a bracelet on her arm, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Hollywood Vampires band are joining forces in Rio de Janeiro to provide more than 200 children and adults in need the gift of hearing in advance of the supergroupâs performance on the main stage at the Brazilian edition of Rock in Rio festival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The Associated Press
American musician Alice Cooper, center, and his wife Sheryl Goddard, right, smile while a woman receives a hearing device in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Starkey Hearing Foundation and the Hollywood Vampires band are joining forces in Rio de Janeiro to provide more than 200 children and adults in need the gift of hearing in advance of the supergroupâs performance on the main stage at the Brazilian edition of Rock in Rio festival. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The Associated Press