I suspect that one or more of the contacts on your USB port has broken, or the plastic slide on which the contacts mount. You will almost certainly be unable to use that port again no matter what you do. If you have to force the USB stick out with pliers you run the risk of breaking both the port and the stick.
If the USB port is part of the motherboard you then run the risk of damaging it too, which (worst case) could write off your PC. However, if the port is on an extender on the front of the machine you might find that all you lose is the port itself. You could open the machine and disconnect the port extender before trying to remove the memory stick, and if the port is indeed broken before or after removal of the stick you could either leave the extender off or get a replacement for it.
If you can, I just suggest leaving it as it is. Flash drives are not expensive, and you've lived with the problem for a year already. The risk of damage to your PC itself is in my opinion too high to risk a forced removal.
If you have another USB port somewhere on the PC you could get, say, a four- or eight-way USB port expander to provide you with additional USB ports for other uses.
-Stewart
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