Metal tunnel problems.

[hxcody91]

So I stretched up to 7/16s 1-2 months ago and everything was fine until last two days I noticed my ears starting to get a little sore. So today after work I took them out and noticed that i had a white ring around where the flare is on the plug. So I left them out and looked 15 mins or so later and noticed that my skin was actually rubbed to the point where the ear on the side I sleep on is almost raw.

So my question is, since I can't get any soft material plugs, and i probably shouldn't put them in while the outside of one of my ears is pretty much raw anyway, is it safe for me to keep them in during the day and just take them out at night?
I would just downsize but I tried putting in a 00g plug and it was hanging out of one of my ears.

I assume the cold weather also has something to do with this issue considering I've worn smaller versions of these same plugs and never had this issue.

Thanks in advance.