My Preauricular Gland In Front Of My Right Ear, Under

My preauricular gland in front of my right ear, under the skin is swollen and hard. This gland has been hard and about the size of a pencil eraser for YEARS, at least 4. It's usually not painful unless I press on the gland and move it around. But occasionally I wake up with mild pain, and today severe pain that's taken an hour to become mostly discomfort vs pain. Almost as if I slept on it with pressure from say my hand. Usually I pay no mind to it, but am curious why this could be noticeable (physically NOT visually) and not improving (size wise) for so long.