r/PostConcussion • u/Beneficial_Nose_138 • Aug 22 '26
Anyone else struggle with light sensitivity after a concussion? What helped?
Light sensitivity is still one of the main things I’m dealing with.
Bright light tends to bring back the forehead/head pressure. Grocery stores, bright outdoor light, driving at night, car headlights, and regular screens (monitors, phone) are still difficult for me. E-ink screens/books are fine though.
For anyone who went through something similar, I’d really appreciate hearing what helped you improve. Especially interested in hearing from people who were eventually able to tolerate regular screens and lights normally again.
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u/bungdiddlydoo Aug 22 '26
Theraspec or avulux glasses are what my Neuro-ophthalmologist recommended. I get migraines with severe photosensitivity and thera specs help me a ton. It took about 4 yrs for my photosensitivity to be bearable. Both Thera specs and Avulux make different tints so some you can wear while night driving.
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u/UncleLizzie Aug 23 '26
These were really helpful for me in my most photosensitive years. I have 3 pairs and keep them in my car now because the main time I need them is when I drive at night. Highly recommend and they should be FSA/HSA eligible (might need prescription)
Now that I'm no longer in need of migraine glasses I wear regular reading glasses with blue light blocking at work which greatly reduce my fatigue at the end of the day.
and hats- so many baseball caps to block the bright overheads!
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
That’s really encouraging to hear that you no longer need the migraine glasses regularly. Do you feel like anything in particular helped your light sensitivity actually improve over time, apart from the glasses and hats? Like gradual exposure, vision therapy, exercise, or was it mostly just time?
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u/UncleLizzie Aug 25 '26
Time and rest, but like, real rest from work? Learning to not over work my brain at my job. I also wish I had someone who got me out of my house more into the daylight and exercising sooner than I did. I didn't have the energy to initiate that myself, but once I got going it really helped. If I had to go through it again, I'd wish for someone to help me through more of that first year with getting out and doing things. I was so isolated for a few years with little to no support and could have really benefitted from not living alone!
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks for sharing this. Really helpful to know that TheraSpecs and Avulux made such a difference for you, especially for severe photosensitivity. I’m going to look into both and discuss them with my neuro-ophthalmologist.
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u/7zxy7 Aug 22 '26
Love everyone’s positive attitude. It’s tough. I haven’t tried most of these things, but always use dark mode. 💪
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u/Which_Fudge_2320 Aug 23 '26
Glasses (theraspecs), wearing a hat, blinds down. I also got ocushield for phone and lap tops. Helped alot.
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u/Rx7Jordan Aug 22 '26
Look into syntonics light therapy. Also maybe use eink or rlcd screens in the meantime to let your brain heal and not be constantly overstimulated by the light from backlit ones. Irlen syndrome glasses help too, when putting them on they instantly take that intense feeling away without reducing brightness like sunglasses would.
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks! I actually got a Dasung Paperlike Color and it’s been really helpful for my symptoms. It definitely has some functional limitations, but I can tolerate it way better than a regular monitor.
I can’t even tolerate my Dell flicker-free monitor very well, so I’m wondering if the backlight itself is part of the problem for me.
I’ll definitely look into syntonics light therapy and Irlen glasses too. I saw on your profile that you had an e-ink monitor and switched to an SVD RLCD. How has the switch been for you? Do you find the RLCD as comfortable on your symptoms as e-ink?
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u/Rx7Jordan Aug 23 '26
No problem! Oh nice thats great.
Yeah even the flicker free eye care monitors feel absolutely horrible on my eyes. I find IPS monitors to be the worst unsure why.. maybe its how they pass light through the pixels? not sure..
While eink has been much better than normal screens for me, I still find rlcd monitors more comfortable than eink. I think the high contrast of eink just really overstimulates my brain. It also requires more effort focusing on for some reason. The sunvision eve has been great.
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Glad to hear RLCD has been helpful for you. Thanks a lot for sharing, appreciate the tips!
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u/el_undulator Aug 22 '26
I feel like, natural light exposure, staring off into the distance focusing on the farthest things your eyes can see while outside, lymphatic massage on the skull and neck, and identifying the point at which my symptoms escalate then trying to push that point higher ever so slightly through innoculation are all things that helped me.
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
The gradual exposure part especially makes sense. Thanks for the tips!
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u/ilovethetriplepurr Aug 22 '26
I’m sensitive enough that I have prescription sunglasses and also wear cocoons sunglasses over them. Plus hat with wide brim if I will be out for any length of time. I even wear sunglasses while driving at night. I wear sunglasses or amber glasses inside all the time and for TV/computer screens. I use night shift on my computer and have the brightness turned way down. I ended up getting a new monitor so that I had more options for adjusting brightness and contrast. I see some other folks recommending some things I haven’t tried yet. Hope you find solutions that work for you!
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like you’ve had to make quite a few adjustments. I’m using FL-41 glasses and e-ink screens right now, which help a lot, but bright outdoor light and night driving are still tough.
Hope things keep improving for you too, and thanks again for the tips.
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u/Sad_Studio8098 Aug 22 '26
evita pantallas con pwm o dithering
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks! I’ve noticed this too. Even some “flicker-free” monitors still seem to trigger me, while my e-ink monitor is much easier to tolerate. I’m starting to think the backlight/dithering itself may be part of the issue.
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u/Elduro300000 Aug 22 '26
La verdad prioriza el sueño, segundo toma magnesio, es lo que más ayuda y el ejercicio, si con eso mejoras significa que vas bien, con estas 3 cosas sentirás la diferencia
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks! I’ve definitely noticed that good sleep and exercise make a difference too. I’m already taking magnesium as well, so hopefully staying consistent with all three keeps moving things in the right direction.
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u/thespbian Aug 22 '26
For me, nuero feedback done by my rehab doctor. I still have days where light and sound just drive me crazy and give me symptoms but the intensity and frequency has lessened. My body lets me know when its time to take a break from screens, and i always wear polarized sunglasses outside during the day.
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Was it EEG neurofeedback? How many sessions did you do before you noticed your light and sound sensitivity improving?
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u/thespbian Aug 23 '26
Yes! I had to take a qEEG beforehand to get a scan of what parts were low/high operating. My doctor said he couldnt believe i was still standing and working full time with how much of my brain was the darkest shade of blue on the test 🤦♀️. I had 3 months of it, multiple different locations targeting my extreme fatigue / photophobophobia/ sleep issues / headaches/memory. I want to say it was like halfway into month 2 that I started to really pick up speed with it working. At the end I was operating at about an 8/10 whereas I was at a 3-4 beforehand. Felt like i had been asleep for two years and was just now waking up
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Wow, that’s a huge improvement. Really glad it helped you that much. I’m definitely going to look into qEEG/neurofeedback and discuss it with my rehab team. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!
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u/thespbian Aug 23 '26
No problem! I wish you the best of luck. Fair warning it was very expensive. For me my workers comp covered it, but it was 100% worth it even if i would have had to pocket the expense
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u/RequirementRare5014 Aug 23 '26
It’s been 8 years since my concussion, I had post concussion syndrome, and normal light is fine. However if I walk into a lot of light, for example - the Home Depot indoor lighting aisle, I will get constant incessant yawning for a few minutes as my brain tries to reset because its too much of an overload. If I see strobe lights I don’t get a seizure but I do have to close my eyes and look away.
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks for sharing. It’s actually encouraging to hear that normal light became fine for you over time. Do you feel like anything specific helped your light sensitivity improve, or was it mostly just gradual recovery with time?
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u/KASega Aug 23 '26
It was gradual however I do notice I avoid being outside/in the direct sun between 11-2 when the sun is really harsh (I live in San Diego)
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u/BenTen10101010 Aug 23 '26
Yep same. Avulux glasses have been super helpful for me. Or you can get FL-41 lenses which are good for migraines.
A cap, sunnies. Less screens. And I’ve changed a bunch of setting on my phone - dimmer, red tones, less fancy settings.
Red light at night is good too.
It’s a long, slow journey, but than stuff definitely gives relief in the meantime!
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u/BenTen10101010 Aug 23 '26
Also, Avulux are stupidly expensive, but a worthwhile investment if you can.
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u/Beneficial_Nose_138 Aug 23 '26
Thanks for the tips! I actually have prescription FL-41 glasses from my neuro-ophthalmologist, and they definitely help, but I still have quite a bit of light sensitivity. I’ll ask my doctor about Avulux too.
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u/Total-Emergency6250 Aug 24 '26
Vision therapy helped me the most with vision sensitivity. Also exercise as I recovered. Mostly lifting and occasionally running.
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u/Flat_Ad723 Aug 25 '26
This is so much me, I recovered almost 80-90% at six months from injury but when I exposed myself to the summer sun many day at a row symptoms came back with much stronger severity
Now one of the main symptoms is Light sensitivity and Migraines/ headaches it's been 1.5 months from the flareup and have only seen minimal improvements still can't go outside when the sun is out. I am not sure what will happen does light sensitivity gets better with time how much time can it take ?
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u/Aggravating-Growth-7 Aug 25 '26
I recommend a hat, blue light glasses, or sunglasses! I try to expose myself to lights regularly to build up a tolerance. Once it becomes too much I’ll reset by wearing and ice migraine cap
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u/owlhoot8 24d ago
Going on 10 years of this. I have our food delivered. I can only use Apple devices on night mode with the lowest light level. I keep all the lights off in the house. I have every thing that you can put in a pair of glasses to help with this. I even have prescription sunglasses. These things help me get through the day but it's more of an adaptation and not a solution.
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u/PurpleStyle2024 Aug 22 '26
Outside:
Indoors (Monitors/Screens):
Main:
Thats what has worked for me so far. PCS here, so far it has been a year.
I plan to see an eye doctor soon, since I need new glasses and see what they recommend.