your health

MagnuM Perhaps avoidance isn't the best long-term strategy, but for a few years now,

This was my strategy for a long time, however now that auto manufacturers have been plastering LED's all over their cars, the problem is no longer avoidable. I've taken a more active role signign up for class action lawsuits, contact auto manufacturers, trying to get the NHTSA to acknowledge the problem, getting my senators involved, but i'm getting pretty much nowhere. But I'll keep fighting. It's criminal to use a technology that hurts people and deploy it on public roadways.

Do you know of glarminy website about light sensitivity?

Never saw that before, I'll check it out. I have visited techsensitve.com which has some info on this. Edit: Just bought the kit, why not give it a shot

I agree with @ensete now that the problem is probably color related.

Another thing to realize is that LED's are banged out in cheap Chinese foundries at the lowest possible cost. Things like flicker, accurate color reproduction, color temperature, none of that is considered, just shaving the price down to as few fractions of a penny as possible. Cheap LED's definitely cause me way more problems and unfortunately we live in a world where cheap rules everything else.

Let me know if the kit makes any difference to you. I am still testing but so far the result seems the same - number 7, which is only one I can use for color sensitive work, really seems to ease the pain. Its still somewhat annoying, might still have to look and focus elsewhere every once in a while, but it really seems to stop that main migraine and stinging headache I usually get from fully developing.

Uros who runs the site has a table of commercial filters corresponding with each number. Ordered them and will see how that goes.

martin It's all over the place, ENT, Orthopedic surgeons, dentists, all have different solutions, and unless you have super amazing insurance (even here in Canada), it's going to cost, so, so much money.

Currently my family doctor has sent me to a maxillofacial surgeon to evaluate surgical treatment for my stuck (left TMJ) and herniated (right TMJ) disks, which I have been waiting for an appointment for months. Likewise I have seen dentists who want me to wear appliances (different from bite guards as the purpose of these is to shift the jaws into a new position over a period of months/years).

The commonality is they all want to do imaging that is not covered by anything I have and is very expensive, and random assessment fees (even from the MDs, not just the dentists) that you think would be covered by my government insurance, but nope.

It's extremely frustrating getting help for TMJ disorders..

degen Well, thats not very motivating. Ive set up a meeting with an acupuncture specialist, some tend to be very good at releasing certain muscle and nerve tension at fraction of the price of some medical specialists, so why not try.

However I wanted to report here that I am more and more convinced that my problem is indeed bluelight related. I have tested the toughest filter number 0 from https://glarminy.com/blue-filter-tester/ and it seems to work perfect. Unusable for color accurate work, but it seems to get rid of 95% of the pain. The clear one number 7 helps too, but less, as its on the far end of filtering. I still get some slight irritation after very long use, but that might be the dither, PWM or other cause.

Therefore my conlcusion so far is that I really do lack MPOD (macular pigment optical density) in my retina, and my retinas cannot filter out blue light. Apparently some LEDs on older iphones etc. were made differently, but newer LEDs have different additions and manufacture due to saving more battery life, so they might be more aggressive -

"Today, many white LEDs are produced by pairing a blue LED with a lower-energy phosphor, thereby creating solid-state light (SSL).[3] This is often considered “the next generation of illumination”[3] as SSL technology dramatically reduces energy resource requirements." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_blue_light_technology)

I would recommend everyone to try the filtering glasses, as its the easiest option available I could find, compared to getting diagnosed for IRLEN syndrome, which seems similar but the centers are only in USA and UK, so for me a bit out of hand. I would love to hear if you have any help with those and if yes, which number.

What I do not understand, is why apps like flux, iris or nightmode on iphone do nothing for me in easing the pain.

martin Well it's not motivating but it's not sugar coated either.

Yea I like acupuncture too. Works by releasing myofascial trigger points (the actual thing that causes chronic pain in our muscles and of course referred pain). It's even better if the practitioner realizes this because you can then direct them to the affected muscles and trigger points instead of them focusing on meridians (which are usually located at the position of some common trigger points anyway, guess that's what thousands of years of trial and error will get you).

I get dry needling with an acupuncture needle between my eyeball and the orbital bone. Absolutely the best relief I have had but sometimes causes bruising. I've been told by a couple of ophthalmologists not to have it done because if the blood gets to the back of the eye it could put pressure on the optic nerve and damage my vision, but I still get it done despite those warnings and the bruising.

Thanks for your report on the filters, I believe I am very sensitive to blue light and will order them as well and report.

martin What I do not understand, is why apps like flux, iris or nightmode on iphone do nothing for me in easing the pain.

Well, those apps don't eliminate blue light. They create an overlay, but your video driver is still sending a signal to the LED to output light, and the physical structure of the LED is set up to emit blue.

I was on the blue light train, but I bought a pair of Blu Blocker sunglasses, and confirmed via a handheld spectroscope that they completely block all blue light (all the blue bands on the spectroscope were black) but they did not help my symptoms one iota.

So it may be something else being emitted by that blue light emitter, not the blue light itself, which is the problem. Remember now that they are involving phosphors in LED's, that means the LED's are emitting UV light that is interacting with the phosphor to make visible light. This is how florescents and CFLs works, and there is a lot of UV leakage in that set up, as well as very, very poor CCRI and Color temperature reproduction.

Thank you for the reply, its good to consider. I think for proper measurement you need a spectrometer that produces a spectrogram, and not only a spectroscope though. At least it would be amazing to be able to measure whether the displays that do not feel painful do emit very different wavelengths and whats their !intensity! than those that do. Or test as many displays as possible, to have comparison and see.

In any case, regarding the blue light train, did you get your MPOD measured? I started another thread with this question. I know this problem is definately tech related, but there simply must be some measurebale difference between me and people who dont have any issues with this. For me, blue light blocking glasses seem to ease the pain, but mostly just postpone it - however I never had them covering my whole face, so reflected blue light or small amount getting around them could explain this.

ShivaWind I am sorry to read that. Its good you figured out how to navigate modern life. However I still believe its a combination of both - tech and health. Otherwise there is no way how some people can use the devices I cannot without problems. Its simply "bad" tech combined with some health/body difference compared to other people who do not have the issue. Looking for a thing that answers both questions at the same time:

What is different with modern tech compared to the old one I can use? (pwm, dithering, blue light...)
What is different with me compared to other people who do not have this issue? (eyes, brain, sensitivity...)

Can help find solution to the problem I believe. I wrote down a list of things Im going to go through one by one, until I either run out of ideas or find the common denominator. It will require some medical testing, and also tech testing with advanced tech that I might need to visit some university or work places to use.

Also the common denominator might be different for everyone, so I do not think we can find a universal answer here, although it would be nice. Im afraid everyone will have to find that common denominator for themselves.

ensete I understand. But I think if the doctors do not know what to look for exactly, they are as good as blind no matter how much money their technology cost. We have different health system here and my friend who is a doctor suggested she could perform some scans on me. However said that since she has no idea what to look for, the radiation Id get during that exam is not worth it.

Well thats certainly good news! reading these studies with the research objective of altering brain function, mood, and affect via retinal stimulation using oscillating luminescence had me a little concerned. It's good to hear that EFF is >60, that means this would not be possible with a computer monitor without the subject becoming aware of it. The alternative would not be ideal.