Dropped iPod

I have a 5th generation video iPod which I dropped last week. Since then it works for a few songs but then pauses whatever it is playing, though it still shows the “play” icon in the corner. I’m not able to change menus or anything on the screen, but it does light up the backlight when I touch the click wheel. I can also hear the hard drive whirring loudly and the battery icon shows a rapid decline. If I let it run for a minute or two it usually comes back as though nothing happened, but I have stopped it a few times by resetting with the menu and center buttons. The same event occurs when playing my iPod through iTunes. My only problem synching is a single song that the iPod shows to be unavailable and I cannot add to my iPod again, but I do not think this is related.
Has anyone had this problem, and will it get worse without being repaired? Is there a repair besides sending it back to Apple, or should I just save myself some time and buy a touch?
Thanks.