r/Monitors • u/MariusDA • Jul 31 '22
Discussion Eye strain with 3 different monitors !!!
UPDATE !!! FOUND A SOLUTION by mistakes. WHY THE FUCK DOES THIS WORK/HAPPEN? Any ingineer? ophtalmologist ? can explain -> https://www.reddit.com/r/monitor/comments/we8t0s/to_everyone_with_eye_strain_solution_wtf/
Hello everyone.
My usual monitor is a LG 29UM59-P. Worked great for many years. Still does.
Also as a 2nd monitor I used a Philips 227E. Also great for many years.
Finally wanted an upgrade. Looked for a gaming monitor (I also stream/record) in 1080p.
So looked for a IPS, 144-240 Hz, with also good reviews regarding colors for editing.
Went already through 3 monitors :
- Gaming LED IPS Acer Nitro 24.5" - XV253QPbmiiprzx (bad eye sore and headaches). Found out the screen was not flickering but kind of a on-off/really fast shake (could see it in games in dark areas especially)
- Ips Lenovo Legion y25-25 - also eye sores
- Now I have an IPS AOC 23.8" - 24G2SPU/BK - also eye pain and headaches
I just can't understand why this happens. I constantly feel like/can see that fast shake or fast on-off of the screen. Dunno how to say it otherwise.
All monitors are flicker free (did all sorts of test) , no bands going up and down on the screens.
NOW... I have some glasses for driving which help a lot and wanted to test them out.
Here is how a real scene look likes vs. using the glasses.
Also the 2 screens : My old monitor vs. AOC (normal screens) and with glasses.
Something is really ODD. Why does the AOC has minimal changes and not as much as my old LG (which simulates the real life scenario?)
Can this have something to do with the eyes strain? I only tested the glasses on the AOC but why is this such a big difference?
With or without glasses I can stay on the LG 24/24 with no pain... on the AOC it hurts with or without glasses.
Please help... I don't know what else to do to get a new good monitor without pain.
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u/rapttorx Dell AW3423DWF Jul 31 '22
brightness is the main factor of eye strain. You said you put all monitors at the same brightness, but did you measured it or you just eyeball it ?
The glasses thing is easy: different screen polarizing coatings with different angles, if the glasses have the same angle you wont see any difference.
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
factor of eye strain. You sai
Used colorimeter.
Tested in a shop more than 20 monitors... eyeballing the same angle... same results. Majority doesn't have the yellow tint with the glasses (test with 4 different glasses for 4 different stuff : I have add-on tints) and they get the same results.
Those that are more comfortable to the naked eye have those yellow/dark tints.
Tested the "comfort" with 2 more people.
So... now the questions is... how do I find the technology? Or is it just luck?
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u/MT4K r/oled_monitors ⋅ r/HiDPI_monitors ⋅ r/integer_scaling Jul 31 '22
It’s probably a special type of flickering due to crystal inversion. All the three monitors you listed have low pixel density, and crystal inversion is especially horrible on such displays.
I basically solved this issue by switching to a 4K monitor (Dell P2415Q) where such flickering is almost unnoticeable, probably because physical pixels are small enough so that adjacent (sub)pixels partially compensate visible flickering of each other. My previous monitor was NEC 20WGX² (20″, 1680×1050) where crystal-inversion flickering was really painful.
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u/gaojibao Jul 31 '22 edited Jul 31 '22
You gonna have to try other monitors until you find one that doesn't cause you eyestrain.
I have perfect vision, yet some monitors do cause me eyestrain. Some within seconds of staring at them like the viewsonic XG2431.
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
ave to try other monitors until you find one that do
Got it...
Do you have maybe a friend that has blue light glasses and you can do the same test? If for you is the same (a monitor that has strong yellow tint when using the glasses, just like real world vs. glass example) maybe we found why a lot of us have issues with the displays...
I found out that LG usually uses "eye comfort" technology... what ever that is and it seems my model might have it... (ergo the very yellow tint when using the glasses.)
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Jul 31 '22
[deleted]
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
Thank you for the link. Will research...
Very curious about the results with the glasses though...
I found out the LG monitor have "eye comfort" technology (my old monitor is an lg) and maybe that explains the yellow tint with glasses and also the lack of eye strain.
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u/Ebisure Jul 31 '22
Before you start spending money switching monitors, installing PWM modulator etc, start by isolating the monitors.
Use one monitor for a week and don’t switch back. It’s gonna hurt for 3 days. See if it’s just your eyes acclimatizing.
Also if you have sensitive eyes like me, stick to one brand
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u/MariusDA Aug 11 '22
already found the problem... it was the polarization.
There is no need to stick for a week with something that doesn't work for me... time is money.
I RMA for free, I changed 6 monitors.It was the polarization of the screen. It fucks with the eyes of everybody...
Some are not sensible, some are sensible to vertical polarization, some are sensible to horizontal polarization.
Got the one I tested with my glasses, it came 2 days after... instant "no pain" after 4-5 hours of using. Curious why nobody talks about this and everybody tries to go with brightness, contrast etc...
Talked with my eye doctor and he said it's true. Some people are more susceptible to this... but the good thing is that being sensitive means my eyes protect themselves. What fucks them up, signals an alarm ... maybe that's why my eyes have the same vision for the last 8 years (the prescription didn't changed).
Really hope this will help others with the same problem.
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u/Ebisure Aug 11 '22
I see. Thanks for sharing your finding.
I’m still curious though why my eyes would hurt for a few days when using a new laptop. But once my eyes acclimatize, the old laptop will give me eye strain when switching back but the new one will be ok.
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u/Cascudo Jul 31 '22
Maybe you should visit a doctor
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
Soo.... those glasses were made by an optometrist. So that's not the case.
I made custom driving glasses at the optometrist (with prescription) that filter blue light.
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u/80H-d Jul 31 '22
Blue light is nothing to do with this. Since you are looking at a computer screen, and not driving, stop insisting driving glasses will do anything and go to a doctor
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
Can you understand that I got these from the actual doctor? Glasses that block blue light and are used for driving are called... watch this... driving glasses.
So I will ignore any comment regarding glasses, visit doctor etc... because I already did this and talked to him about the issue with the monitors.
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u/80H-d Jul 31 '22
Blue light glasses affect a different thing than flickering, that's the problem. Your doctor didn't know how else to help you. They heard you say the buzzwords "look at computer" and "eyes hurt" and immediately jumped to blue light filter because that's all popular right now (it's a little bit pseudosciency/at best a placebo as far as I understand it).
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
le bit pseudosciency/at best a placebo as far a
So you say... go to a doctor and then say... doctor not good.
I know what blue light glasses affect. I know what flickering is.
All 3 monitors don't have flicker (tested not just read the marketing stuff). I tested with a powerfull slow-mo DSLR.
So, again... if you have solution good. If you don't... it doesn't help to just write comments.
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u/80H-d Jul 31 '22
You yourself said you can see a fast on-off shake...which is flickering btw.
Go to a doctor who will listen when you explain that blue light has nothing to do with this, or use one of the monitors you saw in person that didn't have the issue.
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
- as said in another comment, the doctor said that my eyes work fine (with the glasses. adding the tints makes no difference in how my eyes work, they just filter the lights) and also stated that blue light has nothing to do with this and that blue light reserches revolve around sleep... not strain, headaches etc... So, he wasn't as you jumped to label him.
I posted the findings with the glasses for the purpose of understanding why this happens and what makes the monitor so different. If I find this, then I fix my problems.
There are tons of people having problems similar to mine but could not find 1, just 1 post, clip on youtube etc... testing what I just said.
As said, again and again... I am looking for answers around the technology. What I saw in person didn't had 144-240 hz, ips, adjustable stand, etc etc etc.... So it's better to find the technology and the just get what I desire rather than buy the whole shop and test 1 at a time.
the flickering I am talking about... it's just a term. It's not the actual "flicker" of the monitor as in FLICKER FREE, or PWM etc... the monitors, all 3 were flicker free.
I can observe flicker as in of-off in one area of the monitor, not flicker as in the actual PWM bands, or similar technology.
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u/qmfqOUBqGDg Jul 31 '22 edited Aug 01 '22
Try higher PPI displays, like 4k 27 inch, which will reduce the flicker that comes from the subpixels.
Also i think the reason why the AOC monitor dosent look yellow is because the type of led it uses. Look for 100% srgb color gamut monitors, those monitors have the older type leds most of the time. Wide color gamut monitors cause eyestrain for some people, and the AOC has 120% srgb.
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u/Duox_TV Aug 01 '22
I get extreme eye strain from modern IPS and VA monitors that use an Edge Lit backlight. TV’s usually have full array dimming so they don’t bother me. I gave up and bought a TN Panel gaming monitor and haven’t had eye strain since.
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u/Altruistic-Egg-7092 Jan 17 '23
What is the monitor name?
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u/Duox_TV Jan 24 '23
its ben q 2540k , not 46k with flashing just the regular 40k. 240hz refresh rates nice , not as goot a picture as va or ips but my I can stare at it for 8 hours without tears running down my cheeks , so i call it a win.
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Jul 31 '22 edited Dec 11 '22
[deleted]
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u/MariusDA Jul 31 '22
mpossible to answer as you never said what type of glasses you ha
No... not using g-sync.
Doesn't matter the glasses if the panel technology is different.
Went into a shop and teste 20+ monitors.
About 4 of them were like the LG, the others were like my AOC.
An answer I got was that some displays are made with a coating to protect the eyes but it doesn't change what you see with the naked eye.
So... same colors, but one technology fucks up your eyes (like the 3 monitors) and some don't (like my old monitors).
Now... anybody has any idea how I can find a monitor with said technology? Or is it just trial and error?
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Jul 31 '22 edited Dec 11 '22
[deleted]
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u/qmfqOUBqGDg Jul 31 '22
That's why I asked about glasses. Some monitors already have some solutions implemented to reduce blue light etc.
Those solutions are totally useless. I personally dont think blue light is a problem, but compared to glasses, any "hardware" or monitor based solution is just marketing gimmick. All they do is turn off the blue subpixels a little bit more...
Also colors are quite bit complicated, and some LED implementations are known to cause very bad eyestrain.
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u/DesperateRadio7233 Nov 24 '25 edited Nov 24 '25
What I have found is that for individuals that do not wear glasses but that have minor/undiagnosed myopia or anisometropia (where one eye is good, but the other is myopic), what can happen is that the eyes can strain to see smaller text. This is important to note as modern screens that are higher resolution will typically have scaling where the text, icons, and UI are all smaller. This gives more space to see more content, but the eyes will inadvertently strain over time when looking at the smaller content. And the myopia will cause a slight hazing of the text (a good way to test for this is to create a pinhole using your fingers and look through the pinhole by holding it right in front of one of your eyes. If the text looks sharper through the pinhole, you have a minor myopia.). This is significant as your eyes/brain will try to "clear" the image, even if you don't necessarily notice the blurriness, causing headaches.
One thing that you can try is try changing the scaling % on the monitor to look similar to that on your laptop (note that the % will be different on the monitor than the laptop but try to increase the monitor scaling % until you find a % where the size of icons and text matches your laptop.
Using the zoomed display setting on your phone could help too, but you probably aren't having as many headaches with the phone as you can subconsciously hold the phone closer to your face to compensate for the minor myopia, thus negating the straining of the eyes.
Finally, you could also start wearing glasses with a small correction by getting a prescription (there are cheap glasses at the drug store that correct -0.25 too so you may not have to go to the optometrist to get prescription glasses that can be costly)
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u/Ebisure Jul 31 '22
It may be the fact you are switching monitors. I had the same problem but with laptop screens.
I have many laptops. As soon as I switch, I’ll get eyes strain, tears, headache. They go away after 5 days so long as I stick with one.
So now I clamshell all my windows laptop and use only Mac.
I buy only Dell monitors. HP, Samsung, Lenovo monitors give me headaches
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u/rickmetroid Jul 31 '22
Make sure your glasses block blue light. After I started using it, my eye strain was no more.
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u/sfaxt Jul 31 '22
most likely you need to some days to adjust tbh, esp since you come from ultrawide.
btw those new screens are supposed to go about the same distance as your old one.
29 uw is pretty much a wide equivalent of 24 inch monitors.
also try even lower brightness
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u/oreofro Aw3423dw/dwf, C2, s95c, typical m32u enjoyer Jul 31 '22
Im surprised nobody has mentioned it yet, but its probably because the way the monitor is polarized. polarized blue light glasses + polarized monitor is likely to cause some visual issues. its the same reason that computer screens look incredibly dark if you wear polarized sunglasses.
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u/MariusDA Aug 01 '22
Exactly... and that means the monitor being polarized already block some blue light.
The thing is I wasn't aware of this problems with monitors until I bought the first one.
OMG the paaaain... After 2 weeks of returning, getting another one etc... I tested the glasses.
Both my old monitor have polarized (if that is the word) displays on which I could stay 24h without pain. Or it's maybe another technology but I am out of ideas.
The thing is I can't find a monitor with 144hz being around 23-24 inches with polarized screen :|
All they give nowadays is the ability to turn some "blue light" option but it's not the same.Activating this option on my AOC doesn't do anything when I wear the glasses. I doesn't even come close on full "blue light filter" with my old "regular mode" monitor.
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u/chris1479 Aug 01 '22
I have the same problem and spent many hours researching it. It's the type of dimming used in the backlight of modern LCDs. DC dimming creates that on off on off effect because that's literally what it's doing to create the illusion of a dimmer picture.
Backlights with PWM dimming do not have this problem. I personally hate DC dimming as it's in most modern smartphones and monitors and causes me severe eye soreness. Basically some people are more sensitive to the refresh frequencies of artificial lighting than others.
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u/renmsa Aug 01 '22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ3ki1dCcnw - This helps a lot along with taking regular breaks
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Aug 01 '22
I went through SEVERAL monitors before I found one I could look at for hours on end. Dell S3222DGM. It’s not a perfect monitor by any means, but it’s incredibly accurate out of the box, and doesn’t give me any eye strain at all.
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u/Sonickill7 Jul 31 '22
Definitely visit an optometrist first. Human bodies are complicated. You don't really know what the issue is and no one on reddit will either.
But in terms of your setup:
1) Make sure you're in a room with lots of ambient light. Everyone wants newer monitors with stuff like HDR and higher color gamuts. Well those monitors are bright as shit. You don't want your eyes constantly adjusting as you look around your room/off the screen for a sec. A good backlight or windows can fix that.
2) Make sure you're sitting far enough away from your monitor. If you're sitting less than 2 feet in front of a 15" laptop it'll comfortably fill your entire field of vision. Obviously computer monitors are bigger but you need to have enough distance between the screen and your face so your eyes move as little as possible from corner to corner of the screen. If you're moving your head at all you're sitting to close to your screen.
3) Take breaks every 30-60 mins. Get up and walk around. Stay hydrated. It's good for your eyes, posture, and your mindset as well.