@cassolotl I can’t really answer the main question, sorry, but I can tell you that I stopped wearing earrings about 20 years ago. For various reasons (definitely not a mid-life crisis when I hit 50 😀) I decided to start wearing a small trans ally earring - most of the hole was still there, just a tiny bit of resistance as it reached the back. My point is … you’re not alone in that they don’t really heal after many years.