Not loud enough!

I have experience with several other Talkabout models, and this 5500 model isn't loud enough. I have the volume cranked all the way up and it is not nearly as easy to hear someone speaking to me as the other models I have worked with (T4900 and T5620). The chirps and rings are loud, but the microphone doesn't seem to pick up voices very well. If the two of us press our lips on the microphone and speak loudly they transmit just fine (like the other models I have cited,) but who wants to kiss a walkie talkie all day???