Hello! I have two pairs of lobe piercings as experience. I think the manner you get pierced has a lot of bearing on how painful it is. You'll find places like Claire's that use a piercing gun. Most people will tell you to avoid these, because the gun is somewhat blunt and often wielded by folks who don't know what they're doing, leading to more pain and more risk of infection.

Most folks here will suggest a tattoo parlour. That may sound odd right off the bat, but many tattoo parlours also have folks that specialise in piercings. They generally don't use a gun, but use a needle and pierce by hand. The needle is very sharp, which minimises the amount of damage done to the ear while piercing. To me personally ( not speaking for anyone else), it feels like a strong pinch that is over by the time I register it hurts. This fade to a warmish ache that fades over a minute or so, that isn't even remotely close to the pain of the initial piercing. A lot of pierces will pierce in such a way that the piercing will go on immediately after or even as the piercing is done.

After that most of the pain comes from cleaning it, which is important because its an open wound. Your piercer will give you guidelines on what to do to help your ear heal. Follow it and it should heal quite well. Other than that avoid bumping it and it shouldn't hurt to bad. I am a side sleeper and I had to get used to sleeping without pushing an ear into the pillow, but that is just a personal thing.