Ear stretching healthcare, my earlobe is hard and sore to the touch after gauging up, help?

So i just went up from a size 0g to 00g about a week ago now. Let me just say it was one of the more painful step ups ive had yet.. now im stretching them with tapers and when i first put them in i did it after my shower, they did not go all the way in so i waited 2 days with them in where they were before i tried to push them in anymore. By the end of the week ive got them pretty much as far in as the taper is supposed to go. Right now my left ear has been totally fine, feels normal was a lil sore at first but isnt painful anymore unless you really tug on the gauge. As for my right ear i dont know whats wrong, the earlobe around the taper is very sore, lil bit red and tough to the touch...and by that i mean the bottom of my lobe is hard when you grab it, not squishy at all just really hard and tough. Ive taken the taper out to look at it and the inside of the hole looks irritated and a tad red but other than that totally normal to what it would look like without the irritation. I dont know if its a blowout since ive never had one but none of the skin is flared out, nothing is coming out from the gauge when its in other than the normaly crust from the healing. Its just hard...and uncomfortable. Can anybody tell me if i need to be worried? how to care for it, or if its just taking to the gauge up a little tougher than my left ear and to let it heal normally.