iPod controls sometimes work with touch and sometimes not

Anyone else having difficulty with the rewind, pause/play, fast forward buttons at the bottom of the ipod portrait screen.

I'm playing an audiobook and many times the buttons don't respond. I can't predict when it will occur just before I press a button but it can happen easily. One time today it took 8 presses before the fast forward button activated.

While it looks like I'm pressing the button it may be that the actual spot is not were I think it is, but then again I keep bumping into pressing and pressing and pressing until it works.