A new method to test the hearing of newborn babies is being piloted in Sussex.

The Brighton and Hove-based scheme is one of 20 projects in the country selected to take part in a Government programme.

Health visitors will carry out tests on ten-day-old babies at home using the new Universal Neonatal Hearing Test (UNHT).

At the moment babies are tested for signs of hearing problems at about eight months old in a clinic.

The UNHT method uses a tiny probe and microphone to check ear activity, which specialists say is more simple and accurate than the existing Infant Distraction Test.

The Sussex bid for the project was drawn up by Rob Low, a consultant audiological scientist based at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

He said: "At the moment early tests are only done on babies who we think may have a problem, such as those born prematurely or who have a history of deafness in their family.

"Our research shows these children only make up about 40 per cent of the total cases in the area so there are a number of children who slip through the net until it is picked up at a later date."

Experts warn children who have a hearing deficiency identified at a later age may suffer from communication problems which can lead to lower achievements in school.

Mr Low said about 3,600 babies would be screened at home with a further 380 checked at the Trevor Mann Baby Unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital when the project is launched.

The programme will concentrate on Brighton and Hove to begin with but will eventually be extended to the whole of Sussex.

The scheme was developed with the help of health visitors at South Downs Health NHS Trust, who will be carrying out the tests.

Senior health visitor Agnes Baetens said: "It is really important the child gets help early.

"Health visitors see babies at home in the first six weeks after birth and the new test will be part of their routine .

"We think the take up for this is going to be high."

Project organisers are to be given £120,000 to set things up and the scheme is expected to be operating by June.

About 810 children are born in the UK each year with profound hearing loss in both ears.

Currently, around 400 children with hearing loss are not detected until they are one-and-a-half years old and a further 200 remain undetected until three-and-a-half.

A recent study in the US has shown that more than 90 per cent of children with hearing problems identified by neonatal hearing screening go on to develop vocabulary within the normal range in the first three years of life.