It really depends on the person and ear. I have two sets of ear piercings in the normal area. The first ones are from when I was 3 and on one ear I can put something in it but it hurts because of the scar tissue if I leave it in for more than a day, however on the other ear I cannot get an earring in at all. My other set is a few centimeters above the other ones and I first got them when I was 11 because they could not redo the scar tissue area. I stopped wearing earrings for years and when I did it again i had to go get the same spots repierced. So for me they heal up and need to be repierced to use if I do not have earrings in them for a while, but I know some people that can go for a long time and easily put the earrings back in.