iPod:

2G shuffle
firmware 1.03 (or something like that)

Problem:

When the iPod is first turned on, I can increase the volume to full
After a random period of time, the volume will lower to about 1/2, then cannot be increased to full
Jiggling, or removing/inserting the headphone jack will solve the problem sometimes
I pryed out the metal tabs inside the headphone plug, and it works better, yet still suffers random volume decreases at times.

Comments:

I have tried the volume limiting feature, it is not related. I have not loaded new songs in a month, and they all used to play at full volume.

Question:

Would losing contact with the headphone jack/plug cause it to decrease in volume? I would figure I'd lose the right/left side if it was a headphone jack/plug issue, yet not suffer a volume decrease.