To first answer the thread's guide:

 Location: Central Texas panhandle.

Occupation: Electronic tech for the tri-state area (residential, industrial, commercial, computers, communication equipment, etc.), owned my own electronics service business for over 30 years, Texas security licensed, serviced security systems for banks up to maximum security state prisons, Dell warranty for confidential state agencies, alternate energy sources (PV and wind), EMF sensitivity remediation for customers, semi-retired into being a lazily-sitting-on-chair web coder. I was a senior aircraft inspector in my younger days. Generally, except for automatic transmissions and jet engines, if a device can fit in a garage, then I have likely repaired, rebuilt, and/or modified a similar device.

Age: 69 (still feel like I'm 20-something, but the darn mirror disagrees).

First identified uncomfortable sensitivity to EMF: About 5 years old when feeling the annoyance of a distant telephone microwave tower (about a mile away). The sensitivity to EMF often made it easier for me to service electronic equipment. (No wireless devices of any form are permitted in my home.)

Of the 2 years of electronics classes in high school, plus 2+ more years of electronics in college and correspondence, I learned almost nothing that was useful for real-world electronics. No volt meter nor oscilloscope is able to detect harmonic EMF fields, but people who are sensitive to EMF fields are fully aware of the fields.

Some of us have been talking about EMF sensitivity for decades, but since the general public does not believe that EMF fields can have an effect on organic tissue, then I stopped trying to explain. Here in the forum, I will feel much more comfortable being around people of whom themselves have similar experiences as my own.

6 days later

Hello everyone!

I'm chiming in with all the eye strain plagued folks.

I'm a digital comic artist from Germany, mid 30.

I've been a rather heavy computer user since my teens, so around 20 years of screen use. In 2018 (I think), my eye problems started. I went freelancing full time and spent way too much time on screens. My eye doctor diagnosed dry eyes, and after months of desperation and not wanting to believe that eye drops will fix the sharp pain, I finally managed it through taking eye drops so frequently that the pain subsided. Nowadays, I take eye drops around 2-4 times/day and it's okay.

Since around 2019 or 2020, the phases of eye strain started. I went through a couple of new glasses, which actually were too sharp, then on the next one, the angle wasn't right. My current ("eye comfort") glasses finally feel fine. I always thought I just didn't take enough breaks. But now after 5 years and having tried out so many things, that can't just be the only thing. I sometimes feel like I'm making things up.

Symptoms are:
- pulling sensation on the eyes which can get really bad
- tired eyes (for days)
- brain fog/not being able to concentrate
- feeling unwell overall
- sometimes nausea when it gets bad
- not being able to look at screens anymore

What I tried and still do:
- less screen time (I estimate it to be around 6 hours/day including phone use)
- taking frequent breaks throughout the day (Pomodoro is my best friend, I do 20 min work/6 min break)
- drinking enough (~2l water+tea/day)
- sleeping enough
- 20-20-20 rule
- low brightness on all screens, making them as comfortable to look at as possible
- f.lux
- use screens with no PWM
- use the Onyx Boox Nova 3 whenever I can (mostly in the evenings for browsing or chatting)
- pay attention to my posture to avoid neck strain
- going to the eye doctor regularely, my eyes are fine

What I tried and am not 100% convinced if work(ed):
- bought eye care monitor from EIZO (FlexScan EV2480), was nice to look at, but the glare was a straining factor
- freshly bought an RLCD monitor from SVD (still testing)
- turned off Cleartype yesterday

Yet, the eye strain is still there and it drives me nuts. It makes it almost impossible to work properly since I can’t focus on creative work due to being unwell most of the time, and because I can only do so little on the computer every day.

I’ve spent quite some time reading through forum posts here the past few days, and want to try out these things:

- Win 7 (I upgraded my PC from Win 7 to Win 10 Pro in September 2020, maybe that’s a culprit? I briefly managed to get my Win 8.1 laptop running today, but it crashed after an hour due to a battery problem.)
- eye patching

It sometimes helps to read through your experiences. It makes me feel less alone and not feel so crazy anymore, haha.

3 months later

Hello all. Glad to have found this forum.

Location: Seattle WA area.

Profession: Retired Patent Attorney.

Age: 63.

Problem identification:

After using a 2012 vintage Toshiba L775 laptop for ten years and having no problems with it, I bought a fairly low-end 17-inch HP laptop in 2022 and rapidly noticed that I'd get headaches, fatigue, and nausea after using it for more than about ten minutes. I initially assumed that the issue was specific to that laptop due to its performance specs; and that I was paying the price for having been frugal. So for a while, I returned to my increasingly obsolete Toshiba.

I later (2023) bought a Galaxy Book3 Pro360 thinking that the higher quality of this unit would resolve the issue. I was wrong. The above-listed symptoms returned though with somewhat less severity than with the HP unit. The symptoms persisted even after connecting the Book3 to a 24-inch "Eye-care" ASUS monitor only to experience the same symptoms. I note that I have always used and adjusted the blue light filters on the displays I've used so I am assuming that blue light is not the issue. So far the only pattern I can detect is that new monitors, whether native to laptops or external units, have all caused these symptoms, whereas my old laptop and current phones do not.

For context, I add that, so far, I've not had an issue with any phone that I've used. I'm the Galaxy-Android ecosystem and currently use a Galaxy S21 FE phone.

Currently Proposed Approach:

An acquaintance suggested the use of a projector/screen combination to address the issue. I am currently researching various product offerings in pursuit of that approach.

Any suggestions? Let me know.

I look forward to participating in this forum.

    6 days later

    Voyager39
    To Slacor:,
    I'm trying to send a private message to a forum admin. Not sure whether I'm doing this right, but hopefully someone will correct me if I'm not.
    I have two questions.
    (1) If the facility exists for notifying me via email of responses to my forum posts, could someone here let me know how.
    (2) I looked for a way to initiate a private message but couldn't locate information on that point. Again, it would be much appreciated if someone here could identify where on the site that feature is located.

    Thanks in advance,
    Voyager39

        Voyager39 Hi, if you want to send a private message you have to click on the name of the user, then private discussions on the left and discuss privately:

            Lauda89 Thank you for your reply. I managed to get part of the way there. However, after clicking on private discussions and touching what appeared the text entry area, my virtual keyboard did not appear, thereby not allowing text to be emtered.

            Separately, I would like to know whether it's possible to receive email notifications of posts made to discussions that I've contributed posts to. So far, I only seem to receive notifications if a poster replies to me personally on a thread.

            Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

              a month later

              Hello

              I'm a 28-year old male in Canada who has been dealing with eye issues with technology dating back to mid-2021. The problem started out of nowhere but thought it was computer vision syndrome given how much I'd been consistently using technology up to that point going back to March, 2020 (laptop usage along with smartphone). In the past (around 2018) I had issues with my new laptop and needed to have night vision on all the time as otherwise the display hurt my eyes (though apparently some video games would turn it off which I didn't realize until much later). I ended up getting glasses in late 2021 to help though still had issues which was traced back to dry eyes which I didn't pursue much until late 2022 when it was found my oil glands had blocked up. Although the oil glands are no longer blocked, and I continue to use my glasses, I still have issues with my eyes and am pursuing autologous serum eye drops at the recommendation of my doctor.

              More recently, our main TV of 9 years stopped working and the replacement TV (Samsung TU690T) gives me tension headaches with any form of usage which has meant I have to watch on an older TV. The TV that stopped working was a Samsung UN46EH5000F and didn't seem to give me any specific troubles compared to its replacement that gives me a headache that doesn't really go away even. Oddly enough, the older TV was an LED backlit LCD so don't understand why the replacement would be a problem as it's similar technology (I would really like to just go back to the old TV but my parents prefer having something new at this point).

              I'm hoping I can get some helpful insight from this group as I've felt parts of my life taken away the past couple years with these eye issues regarding technology along with other unrelated health issues

              2 months later

              Greetings,

              Sadly, I have joined the ranks of eye strain sufferers, yet I am encouraged by this community of people taking these issues seriously and sharing information that may help others. I am in my mid thirties, live the southwestern United States, and work in the field of digital forensics (which of course involves extensive screen time, mostly in a Microsoft Windows environment).

              My issues began about two years ago, when several things changed in my life within a relatively short period of time (some of these factors seem less pertinent, but I have learned to have an open mind):

              1. I updated my personal/home Mac Pro computer from macOS Mojave to Monterey
              2. I upgraded the same computer from an NVIDIA GTX Titan (Kepler) to an AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100
              3. Our home was renovated with LED lighting everywhere
              4. I purchased an Apple MacBook Pro 2021 14-inch M1 Pro (a common theme here, it seems), along with several modern monitors with WLED backlights, to use as a new home setup
              5. I started a new regimen of vitamins (I would not consider this pertinent, but I experienced some brain fog after about a week, and I recently saw another person here who mentioned probiotics and brain fog)

              By far, the most impactful factor seemed to be the 14-inch MacBook Pro and the modern screens connected to it. My symptoms were:

              1. Eye focus problems (shifting between UI elements on the screen felt like I had to completely re-focus)
              2. A sensation that everything on the screen was constantly moving under my eyes
              3. An uncomfortable sensation similar to a flashlight being pointed into my eyes
              4. After a period of time, a feeling of pinching between my eyes, headache, slight vertigo, dizziness, etc.

              After extensive research and trying many suggested remedies (operating system settings, ICC calibration profiles, different monitor models, etc.), I cut my losses (of several thousand dollars), sold the MacBook, sold/returned the newer monitors, and went back to my original setup (still running macOS Monterey). I also tried to reduce LED home lighting usage and rely more on incandescent desk lamps. While my most acute symptoms were alleviated, I was never the same as before. I am now sensitive to most LED-backlit monitors made after around 2015, including the high-refresh gaming monitor I had previously used for years without problem (I believe those who noted the switch to red phosphors for LED backlights in the mid 2010s are onto something). No modern MacBooks are usable for me, and even the 2015 MacBook Pro (which I had used for years as a secondary machine) now gives me issues after a period of time. My Mac Pro (with older monitors) is tolerable for moderate use, but after a few days of heavy use I will have bloodshot eyes, headaches for several days, etc.

              Currently, a comfortable setup is my Windows machines at work, connected to older monitors from the early 2010s. Actually, the most comfortable machine for me hands-down is a colleague’s machine at work, an older HP Zbook 15u G4 running Windows 10 (not sure which panel, as there were several configuration options). I can use my iPhone 6S and iPad Air 2 all day. Getting a good night’s sleep seems to be a huge help, although that is difficult at times with work-related stress and small children at home.

              As far as I can tell, my main sensitivity seems to be to modern LED monitor backlights. My secondary sensitivity seems to relate to macOS, whether it be the UI (blurry fonts seemingly completely unaware of pixel boundaries), temporal dithering, GPU drivers, etc. I do not believe my particular issue is related to PWM, as my work-issued iPhone 12 does not seem to bother me.

              I am still on my journey of learning, and I hope to contribute to the brain trust here as I learn more, as well as to help raise general awareness about our condition(s). Thanks once again to all who have contributed here.

                2 months later

                Hi there, I'm in Maryland near DC. I work as an editor and writing coach for novelists. I'm in my 40's. I had brain surgery to remove a tumor in 2018 and I've had LOTS of vision trouble, but have only recently learned that LEDs are part of the problem. Vision changes were how they found my tumor. I've seen 6 different eye doctors since the surgery trying to fix what the tumor and the surgery mucked up. I have vision troubles that go beyond LEDs. I've lost the lower-left part of my visual field. I have a hard time seeing the edges of objects. (I see them as moving.) Riding in cars makes me nauseous from all the movement. But I'm pretty sure now that LEDs are the culprit behind a large number of my terrible headaches.

                In December I stumbled across an article on NPR about how people were getting migraines from LED Christmas lights. I thought that if normal people who haven't had brain tumors or brain surgery were getting headaches from LEDs than I better learn more. A couple Google searches later I found this forum and the flicker alliance. The bulbs I got that the flicker alliance tested made a HUGE difference. My headache frequency dropped dramatically. Now I'm working to figure out to do with the more challenging light fixtures in the house so I can drop the headaches down to near zero. At least, at home.

                2 months later

                Severe problems started for me after a couple months of using an M1 Pro machine (14" MBP). I couldn't look at any screen at all after that. Took some time off and realized blue blockers make it bearable.

                About a year later (recently) I discovered this site, and here is my current working solution.

                • Orange blue blockers full-time
                • Gamma Control app to significantly reduce contrast (kind of like "reduce white point" on iPhone)
                • Stillcolor -- thank you @aiaf!
                • Known good external monitor only.

                macsforme Thanks for sharing. My vision hasn't been the same either. Now all artificial lighting bothers me (in trains, stores, Tesla headlights are the worst, etc).

                I wear blue blockers pretty much everywhere: for driving, when the sun is too bright, etc.

                  10 days later

                  Hi. I was diagnosed with myopia at around 9 years old. I'm considered high-myopic: current prescription is -7.75. That said, my LED strain story doesn't start there. I used contacts comfortably for many years, up until around 3 years ago. I could no longer wear them comfortably, probably from years of overuse and bad habits. That said, I could still comfortably use the computer and my phone for hours on end, as long as I wore my glasses.

                  That all changed ~8 months ago. I fell into a YouTube addiction due to a depressive period. During this time, I ruined my eyes. Cannot look at any LED screen without discomfort, extreme dryness, eyelid twitching, gritty feeling. Certain things seem to slightly improve the condition, like a heat mask, but even taking long (days-long) breaks doesn't restore my eyes to how they used to be. Went to multiple ophthalmologists and they've only confirmed extreme dry eye. Tried all sorts of drops but I'm back at square one.

                  I'm thinking of trying a more natural route and look into some of the advice here. Also considering purchasing some e-ink devices. I don't want to be on eye drops my whole life, especially if they aren't addressing the root cause. Will also go to a dry eye specialist to determine if I've ruined some gland. Will report back with what I find from all my experimenting.

                  2 months later

                  New Jersey, US.

                  PhD Candidate

                  28

                  I purchased a MacBook Pro 14 last June, got eye strain and dry eyes last November. I thought it was the screen size because my prior laptop was a MBP 15, but found my eyes can't see the texts clearly on my MacBook Pro 14's mini-LED display even after enlarging the texts, then I got my eye exam this May (nearly 12 months usage of MBP 14), nearsightedness 5.75 to 6.25 (+0.5), astigmatism 0.50 to 1.00 (+0.5).

                  I have to deal with a lot of texts reading and editing to get my dissertation done (like 10-12 hours screen time every day). I think everyone is affected by PWM, Temporal Dithering, etc. but those who only consume lower-intensity information like videos/images for a shorter time would not notice the changes but blame it to their ages.

                    Crear I'm sorry to learn that. I'm curious if you're using the new MBP 14 in naturally lit surroundings or like a dimly lit room?

                      11 days later
                      9 days later

                      Slacor Do you know about the new incandescent monitors that ditch luminescent backlight altogether and use incandescent backlight instead, its incredible, changing the light fixes the strain and migraine, it has nothing to do with the OS or the monitor specs, is all about the kind of light, have ordered one and been using it for couple of months and it is hands down the holy grail for photosensitive users, spectrumview.com

                          beyondthelight it has nothing to do with the OS

                          FRC dithering (which many times comes from the OS, especially macOS on any M1 Macs or later as we have verified by lossless HDMI capture, and has only been able to be disabled recently after the Stillcolor app released) still affects me on a naturally sunlit display with no artificial light enabled at all.

                          As I said in the other thread, Boox e-ink tablets (which I use without the front light on) temporally dither in fast mode whenever scrolling is happening, it's fine when stuff is still since the dithering "freezes still" as well to save power, but I still consistently feel strain whenever I am actively scrolling because all the text starts twitching around until the scroll gesture finishes.

                            Yea I cant stand the refresh rate of e-ink displays either, but if there is no screen movement then its ok, depending of what the ambient light around it is, if its led lighting, then it would be just like looking at any ordinary screen, in terms of type of light, but if the light is from the day then it should not cause any problem, unless your eye is the one with the problem.

                            a month later

                            Dear Forum Members

                            My name is Attila, I live in Budapest, my occupation is that I am a member of the district council, I am forty-four years old. I started having eye and headache problems when I replaced my 22 inch, 1920x1080 75Hz monitor with a 27 inch, 2560x1440, 165Hz. I was seen by many doctors, ophthalmologists, neurologists, otolaryngologists, finally a psychiatrist, I had an MRI scan. I have had at least six different glasses. Tried a lot of things, downgrading refresh, adaptive sync off, different panel type than IPS. But nothing helped. I have no complaints with the 14 inch laptop monitor. However, I have noticed that I mainly experience complaints with static images, i.e. text, not with moving images or gaming.

                            I got the feeling from the doctors that they were not very interested in my complaint. But now I think that it is not deliberate negligence, they are simply not familiar with monitor technologies and do not understand them. To them a monitor is just a box that you look at. Things like image refresh, synchronization, panel types, image size, resolution, are unknown to them and they don't know what to do with it. Many times I've been sat down at the monitor in their office and asked if I had a complaint. I tried to explain that my own monitor was much bigger, had a different resolution and higher refresh, but they didn't understand what I was talking about.

                            I didn't give up, though, I'm still looking for a solution.

                            Thank you for your attention!

                              Attila The problem is the light itself, the actual photons, not really software or hardware related, i suggest you switch to incandescent backlight monitor, it will make all the difference in the world if you are that sensitive and nothing of what you have tried has worked.

                                dev