I again want to stress that for some LED sufferers out there, PWM may not be your enemy. Several PWM-free monitors are rolling out in our offices, and they kill my eyes/brain within minutes or even seconds. I've been writing down some of the model numbers that have this effect on me:
- Dell P1913
- Dell U2413
- Dell U2713H
I want to point out that there is nothing inherently wrong with these monitors, as people are using them 8 hours a day, every day, without complaining. The problem is obviously a sensitivity or "allergy" of some sort of the way the monitor displays the picture, but I have not been able to find out the actual cause or solution.
I was working with a colleague that had the Dell U2413 yesterday, and I can feel my eyes cramping very early on. For most of the day I had to work with them. By the end of the day, my head was splitting so bad I could barely think, nor even write a comprehensive email (spelling mistakes, word replacements, etc). The rest of the night, and even trying to sleep was pretty rough, and even the next day without any new exposure, I still sort of feel a sort of "camera flash afterimage" seemingly superimposed over everything.
What worries me is halfway through the day yesterday, I tried to mitigate the effects by putting on a pair of yellow-tinted "BluTech Lenses" unfortunately it looks like it was a false sense of security. A couple of weeks ago I saw a neuro-ophthalmologist that I could tell didn't know what was causing my issue, but did suggest (by advice of some of his industry associates) that the FL-41 tint (rose-colored) has helped some migraine sufferers with similar issues.
I knew something unusual was up when I built a $3,300 gaming rig way back in December 2011 with a brand new Samsung SyncMaster S24A850DW 24" LED monitor. It made me feel like hell within 5 minutes. It sat for a year collecting dust as I reverted back to my old computer and monitor. After a year, I sold the monitor for a filesale, and bought a Dell U2410.
I somehow have the feeling this wretched issue will end my IT career, one way or another. That's a scary thought, as one does not simply change careers overnight, and it was a 13-year-long investment...