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I have an ear piercing that I've had for over 20 years.
It started bothering me about a month ago so I took my earring out.
It's a burning irritating feeling.
I've been washing with mild soap and even went and bought some
cleaning solution for piercings, but the burning persists.
Inside the hole appears red, but it doesn't look swollen and nothing is oozing out.
I would put a dollop of neosporin (or other topical antibiotic ointment you might have) on it several times a day. Also, keep your hair off of it and don't touch the piercing unless your hands are clean. Try not to over-clean it, the more you touch or squeeze it the more it will hurt. I've actually had this happen with an old piercing too, and this seemed to work. Also cleaning it with an alcohol pad once a day before the antibiotic ointment worked. I hope this helped.
Oooh. It sounds like it actually got torn. Sometimes we dont notice things that happen when we are asleep. If it got caught on your pillow, or on your hair while you were tossing and turning or just simply rolling over, you might not notice until it started to act up. I get injuries to my piercings sometimes and dont even notice it until it flares up.
Also, have you been wearing any cheap "play" jewelry? Sometimes with really cheap earrings, the "gold" coating on the posts can actually flake off in your ear, which can also cause a flare up.
Wearing very heavy earrings can also cause irritation.
This particular hole has never had a fake earring in it, but other holes in my lobe have and I know exactly what your talking about.
This isn't sore, although it was when I first noticed it, now it's just an annoying burn feeling.
It's the forth hole up, close enough to the edge that it's not going through the cartilage, but the cartilage has that burn in it too, more so than the hole I think.
Also I had my math wrong, got first piercing over 20 years, but
this particular one only 16 years with this being the first issue like this.
The burning feeling can possibly be a very early sign of infection. The irritation could have came from something that happened in your sleep, or from something that happened during the day and you were too busy to notice.
Clean all of the holes in that ear with antibacterial soap once a day to stop the spread of possible bacteria. Since infection is possible, you should see a doctor in case he recommends you go on some antibiotics. Since it is 16 years old, there shouldnt be any fear of it closing up, so I would leave earrings out of it until it is looked at by a doctor. If you do want to put earrings in it, stick with surgical steel or gold posts. To soothe the burning feeling, you can take Ibuprofen (trust me, it helps ), and you can also put a warm compress on it for 10 minutes twice a day. The compress works wonders in soothing piercings. Remember whenever you touch it, make sure your hands are washed first with antibacterial soap to prevent bacteria from transferring from your hands to your piercing.
Naut, is right on here Kay. Also, when I had my belly Piercing irriated (which is no longer
they also advised Sea Salt. You can get it at your grocery store. I got mine at the Acme.
However, you may want to get it from the piercing places as they can advise how much salt.
You do warm water soaks with it and it can speed up the healing.
Thank you ladies for all the suggestions and advice.
I was afraid I was going to have to go to the doctor for an earring hole...
I haven't been wearing any earrings in that ear since this started because
the weight of them all pulled or moved my ear around to much causing discomfort for the one bothering me.
If it doesn't close up that would be great.
I thought that it might since it's red inside and probably torn.
Thanks again
Naut, is right on here Kay. Also, when I had my belly Piercing irriated (which is no longer
they also advised Sea Salt. You can get it at your grocery store. I got mine at the Acme.
However, you may want to get it from the piercing places as they can advise how much salt.
You do warm water soaks with it and it can speed up the healing.
Naut, is that right?
That is so awesome that you had your navel pierced. For some reason, I never would have pictured it; thats just because you are way too nice to be a piercing person. Haha, i dont know if that makes sense.
You need to be careful when using salt soaks. If salt water is overused or abused, it can do terrible things to your piercings. It can cause dryness, itchiness, flakiness, peeling, etc. Also, if used incorrectly, it doesnt speed up healing, it actually slows it down. Some people think "the more salt I use, the healthier my piercing will be, and the faster it will heal", but that is actually not the case. If you use the salt water, I want to make sure you are using it correctly so it has no negative effect. Here's what you should do :
Dissolve 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized (iodine free) sea salt into 8 oz. of warm water. Turn the cup of solution upside down, or however you need to, to form a vacuum around the piercing. Leave it there for no more than 2 minutes. Rinse the piercing thoroughly with warm water to be sure that all of the salt particles are gone from your piercing. Do this NO MORE than once a day. Do this right along with the general aftercare (antibacterial soap) of your piercing.
), and you can also put a warm compress on it for 10 minutes twice a day. The compress works wonders in soothing piercings. Remember whenever you touch it, make sure your hands are washed first with antibacterial soap to prevent bacteria from transferring from your hands to your piercing. 
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