Cry it out method not work for anyone else?

So I’ve been using a gentler cry it out version the past few days. After 4 brutal nights, nothing has changed. My 10 month old still wakes once an hour all night long. The only difference is he screams for up to 20 minutes each time before he falls back asleep, in comparison to me taking not even 10 minutes to get him back to sleep. It feels like cruel punishment for both of us, since it isn’t helping his sleep pattern in the least. I just don’t know what to do anymore.