Pointless ipod mine has become

So my ipod had the stupid sad face for about 2-3months. But then i came across an article that suggested hitting your ipod. After i did that the ipod worked...but only for about 2 weeks at a time and i had to keep doing it. But now my ipod wont work. There's no sad face, and everything on the ipod is perfectly fine. i can play games and go through the menus, but i can't add any songs on it, rendering the ipod useless. then i didn't use my ipod for about 6 months. I was recently cleaning my room and found my ipod again and i wish to attempt to fix it. any advices?