My baby finally stopped using a nipple shield

My baby (7 months) just stopped using a nipple shield on Wednesday this week. He had been taking the shield off of me about 10 times every feeding and playing with it for the past few months. Wednesday morning just didn’t put it back on and he latched and finished eating without no problem. The next feeding he ate without it and has for every feeding since. My nipples feel bruised and like they are going to fall off now. I’m happy he’s eating without the shield so I don’t have to wash them all day but this pain is almost unbearable. I can’t tell if he’s biting me with his two bottom teeth or if this is just the pain that women talk about while breastfeeding. Will it get better?