How long does piercings take to heal?

Ear lobe is the traditional place for piercing. Only thin skin and pad of fat is present without major blood vessels. But the cartilage portion is a danger jone for contracting perichondritis. Normal piercing wound should not take more than 1 month to heal completely. 4 months is a lot of time. If your piercing is done anywhere away from the central portion then they could have injured some amount of fat . But I think you have got some infection got into your lobule. If it is tender and looks red or swollen then go to a doctor and get antibiotics. Topical antibiotics is better than systemic like tablets or capsules as blood vessel supply of lobule is less.

Well, since this is your second hole I'm guessing you already know you don't have metal allergies? My ears hadn't healed after 3 years and I finally put glass in and they healed within a week. I found out that I cannot put 18K gold, silver, or anything other than glass, plastic, and titanium into my ears.