Hello everyone, I’m posting on behalf of my boyfriend, who has been struggling with a debilitating condition for over a decade. The following is a summary of his situation, based on a detailed report he wrote last year for his employer. I am sharing this in hopes of finding advice or insights from others who might have experienced something similar. "I suffer from what seems to be hypersensitivity to screens and modern IT equipment. When exposed to a screen (smartphone, PC, TV, projector, etc.), I experience immediate and severe symptoms, including: * Eye pain and strain * Muscle tension around the eyes and head * Nausea * Dizziness These symptoms began around 2012, when I purchased a high-end gaming laptop. After a few hours of use, I realized it caused unbearable eye pain. Since then, as IT hardware has evolved, my symptoms have worsened. I can no longer use any modern commercial devices, including PCs, televisions, tablets, or smartphones. However, older-generation devices do not trigger my symptoms. For example, I can use an older iMac for hours without discomfort, but installing a newer operating system on the same device causes immediate issues. When exposed to modern devices, the progression of symptoms is as follows: 1. **Immediate effects**: A diffuse glare, tension around the eyes, and discomfort extending between the eyes and the base of the nose. 2. **Secondary effects**: The tension spreads to my jaw, skull, and neck. Eye pain develops into a persistent headache ("bar across the eyes"). 3. **After-effects**: If exposure lasts more than a few minutes, symptoms can persist for days. These symptoms are so severe that I cannot tolerate even brief indirect exposure—such as seeing a television through a window, sitting near someone with a smartwatch, or driving a car with a digital dashboard. I’ve consulted numerous specialists: * **Ophthalmologists and orthoptists**: No significant findings except for a slight binocular vision issue (described as "residual phoria with peripheral fusion"). Prism glasses (up to 6 diopters) provided minor eye relief but did not resolve the screen issue. * **Neurology**: A brain MRI revealed no abnormalities, though I have had mild anisocoria since childhood. #### **Hardware Observations and Triggers** * **PCs and Graphics Cards**: * Devices from before 2012 (e.g., with older Nvidia GTX 550 cards) are tolerable. * Any combination of older screens and newer hardware (e.g., GTX 960 or Intel iGPUs) triggers symptoms. * Connecting modern PCs to projectors doesn’t help—symptoms persist. * **Televisions**: * I can watch analog TV with older antennas and coaxial cables, but newer setups (e.g., UHD TVs, digital boxes) cause discomfort. * Surprisingly, even upgrading to better-shielded cables worsens symptoms, though these should technically improve the signal. * **Other Triggers**: * LED vs. CCFL backlighting doesn’t seem to make a difference; the underlying issue appears tied to the processing hardware. #### **Impact on Daily Life** This condition has profoundly limited my activities: * I cannot use modern computers for work. * Public transport is challenging due to the prevalence of smartphones. * Cars with digital displays are unusable. #### **Request for Help** I am looking for: 1. Insights into similar experiences—has anyone encountered these issues with modern screens and IT devices? 2. Suggestions for specialists or diagnostic approaches that could help. 3. Recommendations for hardware or configurations compatible with my sensitivity. Thank you for reading. Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Back in 2010 when LED lighting started to go mainstream even 10 minutes under bad LEDs would give me symptoms for two days. I'm now much better, and have only minor symptoms. Over the years I've read forums, and tried various screens. Personally for me, Vitamin D helped, and I'd recommend having his levels checked (but don't take more than 4000 UI a day unless directed by a professional). There are various causes people found about these issues: * An infection somewhere in the head, such as infected wisdom tooth, or neck problems. * Eye convergence issues (binocular convergence): In this case eye patching (covering an eye) might help * Some eye muscle disorder * Neurological disorders His mention of tolerating older TVs make me think it could be sensitivity to PWM (Pulse Wave Modulation), where LEDs blink very quickly to regulate brightness. Does he have blue eyes? If so that would make him more likely to be light sensitive. I find it strange that he has trouble with a projector, but was it a projector using an incandescent bulb or using LEDs? Can he read from an e-ink display, such as a Kindle? If so it's worth trying e-ink monitors such as the Dasung Paperlike, but be warned some people have trouble even with e-ink displays that flash or change the pixels too fast. I'm waiting for the Hannspree ecoVISION reflective / transflective display. There are other reflective monitors such as the Sunvision RLCD, see the [Reflective_LCD subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Reflective_LCD/). Again, these are not guaranteed to work, and are expensive. I personally use either [orange glasses](https://cocoons.com/shop/cocoons/fitovers/cocoons-low-vision-uv-filters/cocoons-low-vision-wide-line-ml-black-frameorange-uv-filters/) (to block the blue light) and an old 75 Hz CCFL LCD or an old CRT monitor at 100 Hz.

The frustrating part you will find is that everyone will describe a similar experience, but also key differences. Everyone seems to be different, and that's what makes cracking this case so hard. It felt like your boyfriend had stolen my journal on my hard drive which described my issues until I read this part: "*Other Triggers:* *LED vs. CCFL backlighting doesn’t seem to make a difference; the underlying issue appears tied to the processing hardware.*" This was my saving grace. I am totally fine on CCFL monitors like the Dell U2410 I've been using for over a decade now. I also have NO issues with software. All my issues are hardware-related with the display itself. I was fine up until 2011/2012 when some sort of display hardware was introduced to the market that my brain just simply hates. Has you boyfriend ever had any history of head injuries? Do they have any "known good" devices they can still use (which sounds like a combination of both hardware + software!) Best of luck!

1. Binocular problems: Try patching one eye first. 2. Jaw: Additionally try modifying your jaw temporary if you put stacked paper or something else on your molars (both sides/ one side) and check if this effects your vision. If your jaw muscles are very tense it can affect your eyes/eye muscles.

Seeking Help: Severe Hypersensitivity to Modern Screens and IT Equipment

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

evthelegend Have you tried the panels + laptop I recommended yet? Given that your daily is still an M3 air you shouldn't be surprised that you're still dealing with daily issues, lol, even older macbooks are extremely problematic even when they're connected to external monitors — there is additional strange video processing being done by macOS where I've even been able to visibly see the difference looking up close at certain monitors.

(e.g. one TV I have has very strong "extra" ghosting / mesh-like "grid" artifacts that follow moving objects / distorted blue glows around edges of large shapes — that ONLY appear when my M1 Air is connected, but has a clean picture with my Windows devices, despite the same resolution and forced "RGB mode" output on both. The TVs higher than typical level of motion persistence makes this more obvious than usual.)

Let me know when you've tried ThinkPad T480 laptop + replace its screen with a AUO B140XTN02.D TN panel from 2015 + graphics drivers disabled.

I bought this laptop and panel combo only about $300 used, lots of sellers offer 30 day returns, probably can get it even cheaper if you look / buy a laptop in less clean physical condition than I did

Note when buying the LCD panel on eBay be sure to look for a used or open box listing, better with real photos, as the "new" ones often will ship a totally different newer panel from a different brand that only is "compatible" in specs

It will be at least a very noticeable improvement over using your current setup

(if you still need to use Mac apps, you can use NoMachine on Windows to use these apps over a remote connection into your Mac)

evthelegend

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs Admittedly, no. I’ve nearly completely cut screens out of my life, but that’s not a sustainable way to live. I’m seeing a neurologist tomorrow to see if they can uncover anything. If that doesn’t lead anywhere, I’ll move forward with what you suggested—at this point, I’ve got nothing to lose. I initially decided against your recommendation because I’d already tried 3-4 laptops (all older Toshibas) and 3-4 different monitors all Dif types without success.(connected to a safe device not my m3) The only thing that works for me is my Vivitek DLP projector, which has everything "bad," so now I’m just like ????? (also, it’s not usable daily for obvious reasons, so it’s not exactly a success story). My next step is giving the ThinkPad and a plasma tv as I was recommended a try to see if it can make a difference.

By the way, what are your main symptoms? I feel like mine are a bit different than most, which makes me think I might have a different trigger or cause for the issue. It seems like these problems are highly individualistic and I’m genuinely happy you’ve found something that works for you.

simplex

evthelegend I’d already tried 3-4 laptops (all older Toshibas) and 3-4 different monitors all Dif types without success

There is no "safe" device. The problem is that the old device was not "good" when you bought it either, you just got used to it. And if you do not use it for some time, there is a chance that the nervous system will recognize it as a threat and discomfort - the same device with which you lived many years without problems. I myself do not understand how to "reset" the nervous system in adjusting to the flickering of devices. Because it begins to tag all devices around as "dangerous", causing headaches, etc. Perhaps this is a new disease associated with LED technologies and a nervous habit to them

moonpie

simplex I myself do not understand how to "reset" the nervous system in adjusting to the flickering of devices. Because it begins to tag all devices around as "dangerous", causing headaches, etc. Perhaps this is a new disease associated with LED technologies and a nervous habit to them

It can also take up to a week for your eyes to "reset." One bad screen can turn perfectly okay screens "bad" during that time.

I do not think this is a "disease" at all in any way but just hyper sensitivity to flicker. I think way more people are getting hit but they either manage to adapt after years or just manage the symptoms ("I get migraines and don't know why so I take XYZ Rx.").

evthelegend

simplex yea I think after so many years of brain frying its probably learned by now that any screen I look into will cause symptoms no matter what, there is certain visual trainings you can do for things like this but I have heard nothing yet about doing it with screen related issues, really the only solution is to take a extremely long break or like a self hypnosis/placebo type thing might do the trick its cooky but it might just work. assuming that its learned and not built in biological reaction. really is a modern day disability.

pcote

LiliFR Hi,

After reading this, I wanted to say that I live with a similar condition since few years now, which is called "Electromagnetic Hyper-Sensibility" or EHS. This has yet to be recognized as an official disease in most regions of the world, unfortunately.

In my experience, the best way to avoid symptoms is to increase distance with unshielded or ungrounded electrical devices. If you can't, the other way would be to acquire devices with very low power consumption (weak electrical field).

Personally, I bought a quality EMF meter which helped me A LOT to diagnose diverse electrical devices and wiring in my house. This led me to switch some breakers off when staying at home, which helps alleviate the symptoms.

There are 3 simultaneous readings from my meter: Electrical Fields (EF), Electro-Magnetic Fields (EMF) and Radio Frequencies (RF). These represent different bandwidths on the spectrum. The meter warns you when the levels are too high, which is really helpful for diagnosis.

Concerning computer monitors, I noticed some monitors have a built-in AC/DC converter (like all Dell monitors) and some don't (like some LG or Samsung monitors). However, these converters emit a lot of EMF. From my readings, external AC/DC converters are better since you can place them further away from you, which is impossible when the converter is built-in. AC fields are much worse than DC fields, from what I've learned so far.

If I can add more information, I'm not sure about that, but I might have developed this condition after living near huge electrical pylons (backyard neighbor) for about 10 years when in my teenage years (more frequent headaches started about 5 years after moving in to this house).

I know this is painful to live with. Hope this will help your boyfriend.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

evthelegend

I read through your previous posts and your symptoms are actually very similar to mine!

BTW two more ideas. First:

Recently found a super old Sanyo Z2 projector, 720p, it's working awesome for me and it's 3LCD instead of DLP so good chance it's better than yours. Very quiet too

It seems to do no "strain-affecting" kinds of image processing at all with the output appearing VERY clean to me. Sharpening can be disabled by setting the slider to the very left.

I have not experienced any strain while using it for many hours daily. The image appears totally flat (as long as you ensure to connect a PC with known-good output — I'm connecting my Intel HD 4000 desktop with Intel graphics drivers disabled, which outputs a sufficiently "unaltered" image).

This isn't just because it's a projector, because there's actually quite a few projectors (including some 3LCD ones that I've seen at my college) that cause strain for me! This one doesn't though 🙂

The only thing I had to fix was at first, it had some strange purple and green fuzziness on colors, but figured out that this was due to the R/G/B LCDs not properly overlapping each other in the projected image. Eventually discovered that I could go into the factory service menu and adjust the "LCD position" and suddenly it was totally fixed!

Now it is so perfectly crisp and comfortable, very accurate colors too, not washed out at ALL which is rare for a projector!!

IIRC it can be found for $50 used, with similar price for lamp replacements down the line

Second idea:

Look into old Sharp Aquos TVs with "ASV Black TFT" panel type. Made between 2002 and 2009.

They are VA, CCFL backlight, and REALLY comfortable, most comfortable and "consistently good" type of external monitor I've found yet.

Way better than the other types of CCFL monitors I've tried from Dell/Samsung/NEC (which actually still cause me a lot of issues and strain, in comparison to these!)

I now have tested 3 "ASV" TVs (two 1st generation ASV from 2004/2005, one 2nd generation from 2007) and they're consistently nice in general. There are some differences between "generations" — ask me if you want more details.

Unlike most TVs they have barely any image processing. No panel supplier lottery either (unlike most computer monitors), this subtype of VA panel was only made by Sharp.

If looking at a 720p one, make sure it has a DVI port since the "HDMI-only" versions of 720p ones strangely don't let you run them at the native resolution and will always have a blurry/overscanned image no matter what, even if you try to force a custom resolution lol. The DVI ones don't have this issue, the DVI input is perfectly clear.

As they are older LCDs they do have some visible checkerboard pixel inversion and thus are not "totally free" from pixel flicker, but there has been quite a few times now that I find "comfortable screens with obvious inversion", and "really strainy screens without that", so I honestly don't think inversion is the culprit that many think it is. It shouldn't impact your decision on whether to try an ASV Black TFT.

I'm now using Sharp LC-G5C26U (26 inch) as my monitor and loving it. Pretty sure I actually prefer it over my ThinkPad AUO TN panel which is saying a LOT -- as very few screens can even get to the point that AUO panel can!

Plus it actually has really nice colors/contrast/viewing angles. Pretty sure it's 100% sRGB gamut. It doesn't feel like it's from 2004 at all LOL.

(Mine had a red tint at first, but found that at some point it had been intentionally set that way for some reason in the service menu. I reset these hidden RGB "offset" values all to 128 and that fixed it!)

Unfortunately the LC-G5C26U is really hard to find. There are some very similar ones like LC-26GA4U which should have the same panel. Generally, expect to dig for a while to find one (especially one at a good price).

Searching generic terms like "old TV" or "sharp 26 TV" on sites like Craigslist/OfferUp (and then asking them what the model number is) is your friend 🙂

But IMO it's totally worth the effort. I FINALLY have an "actually comfortable" external monitor for essentially the first time in my life

I will make a more detailed post about these ASV TVs soon

simplex

evthelegend really the only solution is to take a extremely long break or like a self hypnosis/placebo

I tried to adapt for new laptop over 1 month, got only pressure in temples and migraine.

Last september I spent 1.5 week in hospital (only use phone screen), and after it I start to use "not safe" grapfic card and got same pressure after 2 hours

I also think, this neuroligal desease is for people who spent a lot near screens (monitor/laptop/phone)

evthelegend

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs thx for all the suggestions im gonna start ordering around to see if anything works, neurologist told me I have vestibular migraines not sure how I feel about that diagnosis though.

evthelegend

simplex neurologist just told me I suffer from vestibular migraine, not sure how I feel about this diagnosis

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

evthelegend It’s incredibly frustrating and disheartening because these symptoms make it nearly impossible to work, learn, or even enjoy any kind of online entertainment. Any exposure, no matter how brief, sets me back for days. I feel dizzy, foggy, and disconnected, like I’m in a haze or living as a “zombie.” My cognition takes a massive hit, and it’s so hard to focus or think clearly.

Yeah, just to confirm, this is my same exact symptoms using bad screens.

Have you tried Boox Palma yet? It's the easiest to buy (and easiest to return) and most consistently good one to start out with before you look into the more tough-to-find options I recommended.

Tip: it's always best to begin using an e-ink device outside in natural sunlight, waiting until you get a good feel for it before you eventually start using it indoors.

Often times people's "first impression" of e-ink can be messed with depending on which indoor lighting conditions they have (for example if their house has LED lighting with flicker and poor CRI / color spectrum, or if they have very dim lighting). E-ink really needs good lighting to work as good as it's supposed to. Using it outdoors avoids this entirely and you get the experience as it was intended.

simplex

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs LED lighting with flicker and poor CRI / color spectrum

I'd not recommend to choose LED by criterias you wrote, because this LED is excellent on paper (98% CRI, no PWM at all) and gives my strain after 1 year of usage

evthelegend

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs just the tab ultra but I didnt like the glass layer because it was blurry and I felt bad with that, Palma is next up maybe b and w might help.

evthelegend

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs also I read somewhere to not focus on the screen as much but rather let it blend into your surroundings im trying it and it helps for sure a bit.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

evthelegend Yeah palma screen is significantly mroe comfortable than tab ultra. Generally better backlight too (but not perfect). For Boox yeah I agree their matte coating and haze effect it causes is pretty poor compared to other e-ink devices and honestly wish they just kept it glossy instead.

For me though although Boox devices occasionally cause issues indoors (Palma generally works better indoors though), the coating doesn't affect my outdoors use though where I can use them without any strain. The screen also feels much crisper outside, I can see that the haze somehow gets reduced in sunlight.

The coating seemed better on Hisense A9 in my short test of it (didn't keep though since it didn't properly connect to US cell network and only got 2G. As just a tablet though it probably has potential)

I will also be testing and posting my experience with Daylight DC-1 when mine arrives either this or next month. It's unique as it's LCD is physically monochrome without individual RGB subpixels which I think will give it a very different feel compared to most LCDs… — I read into more of its detailed specs and it's actually not a typical off the shelf RLCD. They claim that that they were able to improve on many of the downsides of previous RLCD panels with their custom-built RLCD such as the "metallic" viewing angles or low indoor visibility that usually affect those devices. I'll see if those claims hold up when it eventually arrives 🙂

geng-mingze

LiliFR There are inkscreen phone. At night you could turn off the wifi.