Hi There . I've Had My Earrings Since I Was

Hi there . I've had my earrings since I was little . A few months ago I took them out(after I was wearing the same earrings for almost 2 years) for my wedding and 2 days ago I wanted to put them back , but my holes was smaler than usual so I had to press harder for the holes to open again. So this morning I realised that my ear lobes was swolen and the lymph nodes on my jaw and behind my ear is swolen and it hurt aswel as my throat . Now I just want to know why this is happening coz like I said I've been wearing this earrings for a few years now and it not cheap material ?
Thanx for the help.