My journey so far
Recently I had a breakthrough in my journey with dealing with newer screens and I would like to share it with you.
until 2021 i had no problems or eye muscle pain whatsoever, but when i switched my samsung S7 to S20 that's when it changed. after using the new phone for less than 10 minutes I would get a severe headache and pain around my eyes that wouldn't go away. From that point on, using any new devices was unbearable for me.
After going to dozen of doctors and specialists there's nothing wrong with my eyes and no physical issues, i do have a very low glass prescription and wearing glasses from that point on was also painful for me for some reason.
Then about a month ago the day that I most dreaded came, my only trusty phone that didn't give me pain stopped working, I decided to try something i've never tried before - bear through the pain. at first it was excruciating and i used my new phone as little as possible, as the days passed the pain became more manageable (still took pain relievers to help)
Now a month later my symptoms have decreased significantly. I can use my phone for longer with less pain and the pain disappears more quickly than it used to. I sometimes even forget I'm using a “bad” screen.it's still not 100% as comfortable as my old phone but it fills me with hope I can maybe adjust to newer screens with time. It's also important to note, i don't have any good or bad devices, for me my phone and computer were the only safe screens, i even tried to use a phone from 2017 and it gave me discomfort, therefore i don't know if i have PWM or dithering problem its just anything that i'm not used to gives me pain.
what i tried
Different blue and yellow filter glasses - done nothing but cause even more discomfort.
Got MRI and a CT scan - both were normal
got tested for BVD - I do have a very slight focus problem but the doctor advised me against prism glasses since he says I don't need them.
other screen types like lcd ips and amoled - everything hurts the same.
eye therapy - didn't do it for a long time only around 2 months so i don't know if this could have improved anything.
my speculation about why i have this problem - huge strain
focus - my eyes have a very minor issue of focus that may strain them
focusing on small text - i used to read for years on my phone in a relatively small text which unknowingly tired my eyes, sometimes i could feel the pain in the muscles around them. so in general my eyes were already strained
sinusitis - overall i suffer from occasional sinusitis and have a problem with my sinuses being full. The pain from them certainly didn't help the pain I felt from new phones. taking meds against sinusitis helped ease the pain as well.
wearing wrong glasses for 2 years - the numbers i've been prescribed were too high
not going outside - i know it sounds stupid but my eye therapist told me that it could help me to go on 30 min walks and just look around and it truly does help my eye muscles to relax and stop focusing on close objects.
poor diet
In conclusion, I think my eyes are "locked'' and tense and anything new or different causes pain.
(English isn't my native language so please excuse my grammar)