How bad is a rook supposed to hurt?

Hey all 😬 I got a rook 9 days ago at a place I trust (pic 1 is today, pic 2 is the day it was done). It was done with an internally threaded titanium curved barbell and I’ve been following the usual aftercare process, 0.9% saline twice a day and hot water in the shower + making sure I’m not sleeping on it.

This thing HURTS. It was good for the first week but the pain started yesterday afternoon and pretty much hasn’t let up since. I can’t touch anywhere around it without severe pain, and when I’m not touching it there’s still a baseline ache on the piercing site itself as well as behind that spot of my ear on my head, and pain is radiating out towards my face and down my neck as well.

I don’t have any other symptoms of infection like heat, pus, fever, swollen lymph nodes etc. but I’ve never had a piercing’s delayed swelling period hurt this bad. Are rooks just this brutal? I’ve heard they’re one of the hardest piercings to heal but this kind of has me worried. Idk thanks for reading this rambling post lol