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.

                  24 days later

                  Hi all! So pleased to find a forum like this, I thought that I was alone. I'm in Australasia, I've had chronic migraine with brainstem aura since 2013, it was nearly non-stop for years and then after medication sat at ~ 60 h a month until a few years ago when I finally figured out it was from lighting. I've only just been introduced to the use of my phone camera to check for flicker in the past year, and it's cut my migraines down to 4 h of pain per month. I can walk again and work. I'm also now using a 160 Hz monitor with a DC backlight (the manufacturer is AOC).

                  My work is planning to change to LED lighting from 100 Hz fluorescents, so I'm really worried about getting sick again or having to leave my job. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. They're open to buying the right type of lighting for me, I just don't know what to ask for in the Australasian market as the Pst etc. isn't specified and bulbs advertised as 'flicker free' aren't necessarily any different from the standard ones when you plug them in.

                  11 days later

                  Hi, I'm Holden and I have been dealing with a sensitivity to screens since 2015 when I got Pericarditis. It happened suddenly, one day I had to turn my brightness and contrast on my monitor (An HPw17e, TN-LCD, CCFL backlit) from 100 percent to zero percent for the rest of the time I used it or else I felt like I was going to pass out. It was so much worse however for VA, IPS, and AMOLED monitors and televisions, and any LED backlit monitors whatsoever. I am currently using a VA monitor that has LED edge-lighting however it is still torturous and I feel like I am sedated every time I use it and shortly after. I have a Sony Bravia from 2008 that is CCFL backlit and is the only television I can watch without feeling like I'm staring at the sun. I use a Unihertz Titan smartphone which seemingly has a CCFL backlight and is an LCD screen, even though it's not mentioned in the manual that it is CCFL backlit, however I have found it to be the most comfortable phone for me. I use screens a lot because I have a spinal shifting disorder and neck issues that have not been solved. The back issue doctors have no idea what the cause is but if I bend a lot, my spine shifts, and it did two years ago. As a result electronics in the past have been my escape, however it is becoming increasingly difficult to find CCFL backlit LCD screens and they are only going to become more scarce and recently both of my monitors went out.

                    DecaHertz which unihertz titan do you have? I have a spectrometer I can test the screens with to figure out if they're ccfl or not. I am doubting they are ccfl though. I have the slim and the rugged one (wide one) in my possession currently. Is it fully comfortable for you ? I haven't tried them yet. Just something I plan to test at another time. The slim is on the far left and the rugged is middle. I'm assuming you have the rugged version?

                        jordan Oh okay cool and nice collection. Yes I have the original rugged version. If it goes out on me I'm getting the slim. And thanks for testing I appreciate it.

                            DecaHertz haha thanks! The slim version seems very awkward with the small keyboard. I think the rugged feels better in hand. Not a problem!
                            This was at 56% brightness. Definitely LED
                            Pics below

                                jordan Interesting thanks. I'm not sure what the difference is in comparison to other screens but most other LED backlit LCD phone screens are a bit harsh for me.

                                    DecaHertz I wonder if the bad ones dither ? I know iPhone LCDs are the absolute worst for me

                                      7 days later

                                      Hello.

                                      I joined this forum because I wanted to solve eye problems caused by displays and light.

                                      First, let me introduce myself.

                                      I develop and sell displays and lighting equipment for people with photosensitivity.

                                      At the same time, I am a doctor (anesthesiologist) and my company is an IT company, but I also have mild photosensitivity, so I am researching this issue while selling light protection products.

                                      I became photosensitive because I used a display device for more than 10 hours a day for three weeks to meet a development deadline.

                                      My photosensitivity symptoms were glare and severe eye fatigue.

                                      In my case, using a reflective LCD display drastically reduced the strain on my eyes and was effective in my recovery.

                                      I have been working on solving this problem since 2021.

                                      What I have learned from patients with photosensitivity and Irlen syndrome is that there are multiple factors involved in this problem.

                                      As pointed out in this forum, I believe that the following are the most typical factors.

                                      ・Physical effects of light

                                      ・Problems with visual recognition

                                      ・Effects on surrounding organs through autonomic nervous system coordination

                                      ・Large individual differences specific to sensory organs

                                      Each factor produces common symptoms such as eye fatigue, nausea, fatigue, and headaches, but the problem is that the measures are completely different.

                                      Even in Japan, the treatment of this problem is very small, patients are isolated, and there is a lack of information necessary to solve it.

                                      I would like to participate in this forum and work to solve this problem.

                                      I am not good at English, so I am participating using Google Translate.

                                      Thank you very much.

                                      dev