Windows 7: Need +30DB to be heard when using microphone.

So i had an old microphone, and i believed it was broken since i was constantly being told i cant be heard when i speak, so i boosted it to +30db but still i was faint and the "shhhhhh" in the background was terrible. So i went ahead and bought a new cheap headset today, the same issue, when i leave it at +-0db i cant hear myself (tested with sound recorder) at 30db you need to have your volume set at nearly maximum to hear me. How do i fix this?