Mumbai, Jun 17 (IANS): In a unique initiative, the Maharashtra Health Department will use mobile units to check the hearing abilities of newborns in the state to diagnose and start their treatment early, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday.

To be launched as a pilot project in Gadchiroli, Jalna and Pune, the project was conceived by Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule and will be taken forward by Abhijit Raut of the Disability Rights Development Forum of the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratisthan.

As per the Census 2011, there were a total of 55,569 hearing impaired children in the age group of 0-10, which is now estimated to be around 92,000, with 51 percent scattered in rural areas and 49 percent in urban centres.

At a detailed presentation, officials said that the National Deafness Prevention Programme is being implemented in 16 places in the state and now its scope would be further expanded to cover entire Maharashtra.

Tope also stressed on the implementation of OtoAcoustics Emission (OAE) tests among newborns and infants to detect and diagnose hearing disability and then initiate treatment, which is necessary for the overall development of children.

"Deafness can be prevented if this OAE test is done at an early stage. Therefore, this programme should be planned for early diagnosis and treatment," he said.

The mobile units would travel to various primary health centres to check the hearing abilities of newborns, while hearing tests could also be carried out during a child's immunisation sessions, he said.