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.

@"LiliFR"#p40424I completely understand what you're going through, as I’ve been dealing with very similar issues myself. I’ve shared my experience in detail on my page if you’d like to take a look. Like you, I’ve been searching for a solution for what feels like forever, but unfortunately, I haven’t found anything that works yet. 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. Life feels miserable when you can’t avoid these triggers, and I understand how deeply that can affect your mental health. My current guess is that I might have some form of visual cortical hyperexcitability, but I’m waiting to see a specialist for a proper evaluation. Have you noticed any cognitive issues outside of screen use? I’m curious if this extends beyond just visual stimuli for you, as I’m trying to piece everything together. also is brainfog a symptom for you?

@"evthelegend"#p40542 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)

@"DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs"#p40646 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.

> @"evthelegend"#p40785 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

@"LiliFR"#p40424 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 have external converters (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 (pulsed) are much worse than DC fields (stable), 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 that house). I know this is painful to live with. Hope this will help your boyfriend.

Seeking Help: Severe Hypersensitivity to Modern Screens and IT Equipment

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.

FabiFr

Hello,

I am LiliFr’s (ex) boyfriend. Regarding my health issues, I have Asperger’s syndrome, cervical hernias in C3-C4, and one of my pupils has been larger than the other since at least the age of seven. My mother noticed it after I fell off my bike.

The only computer I can use without discomfort is a late 2006 iMac (2.16 GHz), which is becoming increasingly obsolete. I installed Linux Mint on it, but it hurts my eyes as soon as I boot it up. I’m desperate to find a setup that suits me. My phone is an iPhone 8, which also causes me symptoms, but unlike other smartphones, I feel like I’ve gotten used to it—I can use it for a few minutes without experiencing lingering pain.

I tested a Boox Palma, but it still had a negative effect on me, which was stronger when the screen was backlit. However, I still experienced discomfort even when it was used without backlighting. My ophthalmologist says this indicates that my issue is not related to PWM. E-ink screens have no refresh rate, which is why an e-ink screen can display an image even when the device is turned off.

I asked my ophthalmologist if he could prescribe Latanoprost, but he told me it was dangerous and only for people with intraocular pressure above 20.

I am currently on Venlafaxine due to my depression following my breakup with Lili. I feel like it reduces the discomfort caused by screens that enter my field of vision for a few seconds, but it doesn’t solve the problem if I want to work on a computer.

carguy0625

I don't have many suggestions for a solution, I've had success using a Boox Palma for most of my smartphone type use, but I just wanted to say that it sounds like you're going through a rough time and I feel for you.

noigmn

Has he tried e-ink? I have Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS) and use a Hisense A9 phone modded to run Android 14.

They traditionally come with a Chinese system, but you can buy them with Google Apps installed or follow guides to install ROMs for the best experience and newer Android.

I have trouble with both screens and lighting. The VSS is a sensory processing issue where I don't filter out the garbage, so see all the after images, moiré, artifacts from flicker, etc. and that induces my mind to guess in strange ways and also causes strange migraine aura quite quickly (pain, ringing, numbness, illusion, muddled sensory feedback, detachment, etc). It started as a post viral thing.

E-ink lacks a lot of the things that cause my issues because I can use it in ambient light.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

noigmn Though even if you do give me the perfect backlit monitor, the afterimages from looking directly into a light, especially with high contrast things like text, will probably still make me ill quickly. The text floats around as my eyes scan. My mind tries to correct and starts grabbing whole paragraph blocks. I can't focus on a single letter or word easily

This isn't a perfect backlit monitor that creates an unprocessed image you're describing here -- what you're describing still lines up with my experiences using bad screens

(particularly nearly every IPS screen in addition to a few TN screens from certain suppliers as well. Yes, including many that are PWM-free. IMO, even though flicker can definitely be a factor in strain… I honestly don't think it's the primary cause of why so many displays look so weird and disorienting nowadays. Especially as one of my "truly comfortable" devices actually has a bit of PWM)

So the monitor you got this experience from was still very much a bad monitor (bad as in strain and over-processing wise, not in terms of specs).

Yes, 95+% of the dozens of monitors I've tried give me these exact symptoms, so it made me feel like I had issues with the concept of backlit monitors in general (there was one point where I thought I had issues reading in general lol, but that turned out not the case)

However, after a few years of searching I eventually ended up finding two very specific old displays + an equally very specific computer/software setup for each that managed to finally give me what is a sufficiently unprocessed image.

And it turns out that, there is no floating text and especially no afterimages anymore.

So I can say that it is actually possible to achieve this on backlit displays (including LED-backlit, as my current laptop screen has a WLED backlight), but it took me A LOT of searching.

Meanwhile, I had to use a bad screen again a few days ago (a 2015 retina MacBook pro) and yeah it was like I still had all the same issues. Icons look like they're shaking, windows are floating above the wallpaper in a way that shouldn't make sense for a 2D display, can only keep a few words in my memory, constantly going blurry and clear every few seconds, super tired afterwards etc.

But then I went back to my working setups and all of that vanished lol.

So I definitely think there's hope you can eventually find a working screen. Maybe by recreating one of my setups identically since we seem to have similar symptoms

noigmn

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs interesting. Sorry, I'd edited my post because I thought too much irrelevant personal stuff for the original question.

Out of interest, what are your setups?

Even if it's not for regular use, I need something safer to cast to for photo stuff.

I'm a big fan of frontlit technologies though. They are superior to backlit in many ways, just need higher refresh rates and good colour image quality. Hopefully one day some mad scientist will finally make a MEMS monitor or something.

DecaHertz

My personal experience is that I have to use TN-LCD and not VA, LED, or AMOLED screens, and they have to be CCFL (Fluorescent) backlit screens and not LED backlit. Unfortunately TN-LCD screens are rare and CCFL backlighting is not done anymore at all. So I too am forced to use older technology. Also in regards to monitors, I find that using VGA helps me if it is available. The exceptions are I am able to look at LED but not AMOLED screens from a distance, and my LED backlight TN-LCD phone has never bothered me even though it's LED backlit.

On top of a specific kind of screen, I use a screen cover which filters blue light and UV light, and I also wear tinted glasses.

I've spent a lot of time buying and trying out monitors from ebay trying to find one that works because none of the ones on sale are usable for me and it mentally wears on me as if I'm being hypnotized, and during that time I am unable to do any work while looking at screens that affect me because I can't concentrate.

DisplaysShouldNotBeTVs

DecaHertz

Very similar to you, in that in almost all cases I can only use (some) TN displays and have essentially never had a good experience with IPS.

(Out of all of the IPS displays I've ever used, only one single old IPS laptop I could actually be productive on, and even then it still had strain when compared to my current TN setup. Also, there are still some TN displays that strain me as well)

My current TN display that is working great for me is this: https://www.panelook.com/B140XTN02.D_AUO_14.0_LCM_overview_26816.html

It is WLED backlit, but is currently the device I am the most productive on, and I feel fine even if I use it for hours every single day.

Note that to make the screen's output "perfect", at least on an Intel UHD 620 graphics laptop, it has to be run under Linux with specifically the legacy unaccelerated "Vesafb" framebuffer driver, and kernel modesetting disabled.

If I run it under the newer "Uvesafb" instead which requires kernel modesetting, any Intel graphics driver, or even Basic Display Adapter Windows, the output is much worse — even though it's actually still a lot better than other screens, I experience some of the "unable to concentrate" you're describing (and mild strain).

But, if I use the "Vesafb" driver, the image is nearly perfect to my eyes and I don't experience any strain!!

Even before I found this strategy, the panel already looked perfect in the laptop's BIOS, but not when booting into an OS.

I'm not sure what's different about using Vesafb, but it essentially seems like it's doing something that maintains the same "unprocessed" output and comfort of the BIOS, even after booting into Linux and switching to the native resolution.

And this is how I'm now able to use it CONSISTENTLY every day for the past 3 months. I can finally enjoy using a laptop again and text is soooooo easy to read on my current setup.

Still trying to come up with an reproducible step by step guide that works on a mainstream Linux distro to create the same setup that I've managed to achieve with this panel — when I do, I will share it on this forum. Probably in few months from now.

BTW, I did find recently that some VA screens are OK for me as well — specifically, really old Sharp VA TVs from the 2000s with their own variant of VA called "ASV Black TFT". Those screens are good enough where now I use a Sharp LC-G5626U from 2004 pretty frequently as an external monitor.

The Sharp has a CCFL backlight, but given that it's pretty similar to the AUO TN panel in comfort to me, I don't think the backlight is the main factor in my case.

(The Sharp does require certain hardware to output the best possible image though — I've only gotten output on the TV to look equally as crisp and comfortable as the TV's built-in menu with a first generation Raspberry Pi from 2011 connected.

Connecting a regular PC instead, including Intel Graphics, NVIDIA or macOS devices, sends a noticeably different image that isn't comfortable to look at and looks hazier/blurrier than the TV menu — even if I select the same resolution, disable dithering, etc.

Fortunately, I can run a VNC client on the Pi and connect to my other PCs from the TV that way. And even though I'm remotely viewing the same desktop, the output looks so much nicer to me than trying to connect one of those PCs to the TV directly.

The fact the same desktop looks OK when viewed through the Pi, makes me think that in this case, the GPU of each PC is the problem, not something easier to explain like simply the text rendering of the OS etc.)

I don't think I'd have much luck with other brands of VA panels though, as other VA types seem pretty different in how others have described them.

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