Jewelry

[CamilleP]

@SilleeMee   The point to my story is that "permanent" isn't really permanent.  They can be removed again by the salon that puts them in.  They are extremely comfortable to sleep in because the post is very short and the closure on the back is flat and smooth.  If you really, truly want to get your piercings to open up and stay open, so you don't have to fight to get earrings in or even re-pierce, bleed, get infected etc, you need to put in earrings and leave them in 24/7/365, just like you did when you first got your ears pierced.  You just have to be persistent, pick a design you can wear constantly, be it a plain ball stud or a cross, star of David, or butterly, have it put in, and then wait at least 3 months and live in those posts.  Turn them, use alcohol on the lobes to keep them clean and not risk infection, just like you did when you first got your ears pierced, and be patient, and at the end of that time, you will have pierced ears again.  You can also get a pair of permanent hoops put in, but you mentioned earlier in this thread that you tried to sleep in small hoops and that made your ears sore, so that's why I advised you to get permanent studs.  

[Shanus]

@SilleeMee   Sad to say my derm said it can happen happen with age as the lobes lose volume.

He's offered to pierce them again since my issue is that the hole doesn't go straight through anymore and it takes me forever to snake the earring through to the back. My lobes are red and sore for awhile. 

I did think about getting those earrings with flat backs that are meant to sleep in comfortably. They may keep my piercing open until morning. if that doesn't work, I will have them re-pierced.

[SoCal Bred]

I got my ears pierced over 50 years ago and have since worn earrings daily, posts need to be 14k, only problem is most post are on the thick side, I need thin posts otherwise it will not go through my lobes unless I force it then it's painful and I have to remove them.  A jeweler suggested I get my ears re-pierced and I'm not going to do that, I look for earrings (hoops) with a very thin post to slide through easily, usually I can find at Macy's or JC Penney's.

I remove my earrings before going to bed every night and I have diamonds studs in my 2nd piercing that I don't remove only to clean every so often.

[NYCLatinaMe]

Hi @SilleeMee 

Maybe you already have your answer, I didn't go past page one of the thread.  I have secondary holes that I don't always have earrings for, and they do tend to semi-close close after a while, which I don't want, so I bought the tiniest eternity style hoops in gold and I just never take them off.  Studs are not good because they stab me behind the ear.  The tiny hoops, I don't feel at all, but they could get caught in something, like a thread in bed, so that is the one thing to watch out for.  That is rare though.  The ones I bought are from Amazon: "14k REAL Yellow OR White Gold 1.5mm Thickness Huggie Earrings (8 x 8 mm)" brand "The World Jewelry Center".  They show now for sale at $61; I paid $51 in April.  I don't know if you are an Amazon regular, which I am, and sometimes I look at something, maybe put it in my cart, and don't look again until the next day, and they give me a coupon for a limited time.  Gold prices I think are at an all time high though.  I am very happy with my earrings.  I bought both white and yellow, but ended up just wearing the white all the time because it's hard to see the color, and white could be matching or complementary if anyone could actually tell what the color was.  Just FYI, I think they may be hard to get on and off if that is your intent.  I had one of those customer questions about how to get them on, and I don't remember having any problem, but I tried to take them off to answer the question, and I couldn't pull them apart that easily because I can barely grab them, they are that close to the lobe, and I gave up.  Maybe I twisted them on.  Sure don't remember but I do really like them and am sure I can take them off if I really want to.  I can roll them in my piercing without problem; no pain at all.  Before putting these new earrings on, I made sure my piercing was open with other earrings I know I tolerate, just in case things went bad.  But I have had no problems.  I think you are a silver wearer, so white would work.  If your ears tolerate silver all the time, maybe you can find them in silver.  My piercings are sensitive and I wouldn't try leaving silver on all the time.

FYI, ended up reading the whole thread.  I am a side sleeper too and I really can't feel them on.  If you don't change the earrings often, maybe give these a try.  Before doing this, I have had a little pain getting an earring through, but never blood.  If I were you I would stick to gold.

@BunSnoop Maybe this works for you.

[Fraidiekat]

I know your post is 6+ months old, but I wanted you to know you are not alone and not from another planet  My 22-year-old daughter has the same problem.

When it first happened to her she was 13 and we re-pierced her ears and I lectured her to keep the earrings in and follow the instructions and instead of 8 to 12 weeks she could keep those in for 6 months. Taking them out only to clean them and only after the 12 weeks. We followed all the rules. We used neosporin, we twisted them etc., etc. She was 13 and I was treating her like I did when she had them pierced at 7.

Fast forward to age 18. Her holes from age 7 and age 13 closed up. She decided on her 18th birthday to get 3 holes and get a tattoo. I went with her and got my finger tattoo re-tattooed with her. (I got a cross on the inside of my finger 6 years prior when my first daughter turned 18.) 

Fast forward to today, she is age 22 and just told me on the phone that the 2 top holes closed up on both sides after doing everything as instructed and they all had thick posts because this was a tattoo/piercing place so they have hardcore earrings there lol. 

I googled "Pierced ear holes keep closing" and it brought me to your post. This appears to be very uncommon and people don't seem to understand. It's kind of like how I treated my daughter at 13 when we repierced. "YOU HAD BETTER TAKE CARE OF THEM THIS TIME!!" People think it's a you, at age 50, not understanding how to manage a tiny hole in your ear. Hahahahaha! I am gong to continue researching this to find out if there is a medical reason and I will let you know what I find. 

God speed friend!! I pray the mothership never finds you! Hahahahaha

[CalminHeart]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

My holes keep partially closing despite wearing earrings everyday. Anyone else have this problem? What do you do about it? I don't want to let them close all the way but that might happen anyways and then I'll need to go and get them re-pierced! 

What is happening?! Never had this problem before. My piercings are over 50 years old.

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My ears were pierced in 1966. The back side of the holes still close up if I go more than a day without earrings. I can't tell you how many times I've had to force an earring through or use a needed to open up the back. 

My preference is leverback earrings because they don't poke my head when I sleep on my side or get in the way of the phone.

I don't fight it. I just keep earrings in.

[haddon9]

I've had a similar problem but I think (for one ear anyway) that it might be the angle that I'm trying to get my earring in.  Sometimes it seems a lot more difficult to get in than other times. 

I have had my ears pierced since I was 12 and I'm about to be 72....60 years!  I have read that many have had their piercings get bigger over time but that has never happened to me.

[SilleeMee]

I've been dipping my earring posts into Aquaphor ointment and that makes it easier to get them to go through my shrinking holes. That way I'm not struggling to push them through which sometimes causes some bleeding and swelling...ugh. Aquaphor is great stuff. 👍

[Kalli]

I had my ears pierced 50 years ago.  Back then piercings were done with a needle in an instrument that looked like a paper p u n c h.  That process used a thin needle. It was sent through the lobe, then taken out and the earring was inserted after that.  So, my original holes are thinner.

When I got a third piercing about 25 yrs ago,  it was done with an instrument that has the actual earring in it which was then p u n c h e d through the lobe.That type of earring has a thicker piece of gold as the part that goes into the pierced hole.  And now I notice many current earrings have that thicker part so this kind of earring sometimes causes me discomfort in my original holes, especially if I haven't worn earrings for a few weeks.  

In order to get my lobe used to wearing earrings again I use an earring with that thinner lobe part, put a little antibiotic ointment on the part and slowly twist or wiggle it, using slight pressure to get it through. Then I wear it for a few days in a row, always using ointment, but I do take it out to sleep.  

I have found using the ointment keeps it uninfected and makes insertion much easier.  After a few days I try to insert an earring that has the thicker lobe section, again slathering ointment and inserting with a wiggling or twisting motion as I gently push it to the opposite side.

Need both, ointment for lubrication and twisting or wiggling motion with slight pressure to help it come out the other side. This has worked for me.