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.

                                    18 days later

                                    Hello everyone!

                                    I'm almost 40 years old and I live in Asia. I'm a professional software developer and an Apple device user. I've been sensitive to PWM for as long as I can remember. Thanks to ledstrain.org, I learned that PWM isn't the only issue. About a year ago, ledstrain.org helped me solve a problem with Apple Silicon. Since then, I've spent a lot of time reading posts here on the forum and have learned a lot about modern technology issues. However, I only recently decided to join as a participant.

                                    I have moderate myopia and astigmatism (special glasses almost completely correct it), and sensitivity to PWM/dithering/bright light (usually only concerning monitors). In the past, I spent a huge amount of time with doctors, but no one has been able to tell me what the problem is. Therefore, there is no exact diagnosis or treatment, so unfortunately, the problem is not solvable from a medical standpoint for me.

                                    English is not my native language: I have no issues with reading, but for writing posts, I almost always use ChatGPT to check grammar and translation.

                                    I'm sure it's very important to share information like what's presented on this site, as there's very little of it online. And I will always be grateful to ledstrain.org for that.

                                    23 days later

                                    Hello everyone! I'm Storme, I’m 28 years old, based in San Jose, California, and I work as a software engineer. Due to my job, I spend a lot of time with electronic devices and screens. About a year ago, I started noticing unusual eye strain after long hours of work, sometimes accompanied by dizziness and trouble concentrating. Initially, I thought it was just common eye fatigue from extended screen time.

                                    However, after trying various solutions like changing monitors and reducing screen brightness, the symptoms didn’t improve significantly. It wasn’t until recently that I learned these discomforts might be caused by factors like PWM dimming and time jitter—especially for people like us who use electronic devices for long hours.

                                    Seeing many people share similar experiences here on the forum makes me feel less alone. I hope to find more solutions to address these issues, and I also look forward to helping others who may be experiencing the same troubles!

                                    25 days later

                                    Location: Washington State, USA

                                    Occupation: Software Developer

                                    Age: 40s

                                    How you first identified you were affected: I tried to buy a new monitor about a decade ago to upgrade from my HP LP2475w (pretty much the greatest monitor ever, ha) and everything felt so wrong within 5-10 minutes. The screens were crawling and left me feeling sick to my stomach and a bit dizzy (I'm very prone to migraine but this wasn't quite a trigger for those). I tried purchasing numerous monitors to see what the issue was (ppi, backlight type, flicker free, blah blah). Ultimately it seemed to just be CCFL = good vs. not = bad.

                                    I'm very curious to read what others have to share. I have a small collection of backup HP LP2475w monitors along with a couple Dell U2412 CCFLs (random ebay purchases). I'd love to try OLED but I've read that they are terrible for office work. Strangely, televisions of varying types have never really impacted me much (assuming due to not having it directly in my face). Some laptop LED monitors seem to be okay for short periods of time.

                                    1920x1200 for life!

                                    dev