Wearable tech maker Nuheara has reported a 53 per higher full-year loss of $7.4 million as it invests further in marketing and development of its high-tech earbuds.

Nuheara (ASX:NUH) makes wireless earbuds called IQbuds that allow consumers to augment their hearing according to their personal hearing preferences, as well as helping those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss.

The shares fell 8 per cent to an intraday low of 7.6c before rebounding to 8.2c — just short of yesterday’s close of 8.3c.

Chief Justin Miller told Stockhead this morning that significant investments in marketing and product development were behind the $7.4 million loss.

“At the start of July last year we were in about 40 retail stores, that’s now up over a thousand,” he said. “That took some expense to develop that.

“We also developed two new products. One hit the market at the beginning of May and the third product is currently in pre-production.

“They were primarily the reasons for the increase of the loss position but we think the future looks very promising.

Nuheara’s shares (ASX:NUH) over the past year.

“We laid the foundation in FY18 and we truly believe this financial year will be our statement year, when we can actually start to really see improvements in both the top and bottom line.”

The increased investment does appear to be paying off, with revenues increasing 61 per cent year-on-year.

Back in July Nuheara told the market that it had sold out its first 2,500 run of IQBuds Boost – which sell for US$499 – in six weeks.

The company also significantly increased its cash reserves in 2018, ending the year with $8.3 million in the bank, up from $3.4 million in 2017, thanks to a $6 million cap raise in June.

Nuheara is also looking at the health implications for its technology – in the past year it has aimed to improve concentration in the classroom of kids on the autism spectrum.