Eye strain issues with newer monitors(IPS/VA/TN)
Posted: 16 Sep 2022, 00:16
Greetings!
First of all I wanted to say thank you to the other users who have made posts and followed up regarding their own issues with monitor eye strain and discomfort. I did want to try to get advice with my own struggle, however, as I feel extremely frustrated being unable to find a new comfortable monitor solution. Hopefully all this information is easy to digest and helps narrow down on where to start with some suggestions/advice.
Eye health background/status: I currently have 20/20 vision after SMILE corrective eye surgery at the start of 2022. Prior to that I wore glasses/contacts for nearsightedness and an astigmatism but the eye strain feeling is the SAME both before and after the surgery. I try to take breaks during PC use and use preservative free eye drops if my eyes are super dry but usually they're fine. I've followed up with other eye doctors and they don't see any issues with my vision that stands out. I'm currently looking into speaking with a vision therapist as I've heard eye strain can also be caused by eye focus issues which aren't easy to diagnose by non-specialists.
I am currently using the following monitors without issue:
- I-Inc IL272DPB 27" HD
- AOC G2770PQU 27" HD
Both of these(from what I can gather) are older 2013/2014 model TN panel monitors with the older style thicker bezels. Seldom do they cause me any major eye strain or fatigue. Usually only on days where I don't sleep well or if I don't use good ambient lighting do I feel any discomfort. I've been using them for nearly a decade though and I'd like to upgrade...the only issue is that it seems like every newer monitor causes me some form of unbearable eyestrain that makes it impossible to work or play on. I work from home so long hours working on Microsoft Office spreadsheets, e-mails, and documents is the norm for me.
Over the last few years I've tried several newer monitors of different sizes, resolutions, and panel types. Here's a list of them:
- Acer Nitro XV272U 27" 2K IPS
- MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD 27" 2K IPS
- Dell S3222DGM 32" 2K VA
- HP X32 31.5" 2K IPS
- Gigabyte M27Q 27" 2K IPS
- MSI Optix MAG274R HD IPS
- GIGABYTE M28U 28" 4K IPS
- Acer XF270HU 27" 2K TN
- Dell S2719DGF 27" 2K TN
All of them caused significant eye strain/fatigue to the point where I could no longer use it without taking pain medication and breaks every 5 minutes. The pain/discomfort feels like a pressure behind the eyes within 15 minutes that usually turns into a dull headache or full blown migraine. What's interesting is that the newer TN panel monitors I've tried gave me quicker and more painful eye strain than IPS/VA despite it being the current panel type I use without issues. I've also given some of these monitors weeks to try to "adjust" to them but I never seem to even with frequent breaks and ergonomic settings. Speaking of those, I've tried a lot after reading other users posts around the forum. Here's my list of what I've tried:
Things I've tried to alleviate issues:
- Using limited RGB mode or sRGB clamp
- Increasing Windows scaling from 100% to 125%-150%
- Tried Windows Night Mode
- Turned down brightness/contrast
- Color calibrated monitor with friends colorimeter
- Tried different refresh rates
- Tried both NVidia and AMD GPUs
- Tried with G-Sync/Freesync on AND off
- Tried turning monitor overdrive modes on/off
- Adjusting ambient lighting (more for me usually helps)
- Tried sitting closer and at arms length away
- Tried "gamer" yellow tinted glasses with and without a slight magnification(x0.50)
- Tried NeuroLens prism glasses via Optometrist with no change(made headaches 10x worse)
So here I am pretty much at the end of my sanity trying to figure out what is wrong with me or if maybe it's just the newer monitors I'm sensitive to and needing to find the right one. I feel cursed having to deal with this as an IT professional that has to be in front of screens a lot of the time. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
First of all I wanted to say thank you to the other users who have made posts and followed up regarding their own issues with monitor eye strain and discomfort. I did want to try to get advice with my own struggle, however, as I feel extremely frustrated being unable to find a new comfortable monitor solution. Hopefully all this information is easy to digest and helps narrow down on where to start with some suggestions/advice.
Eye health background/status: I currently have 20/20 vision after SMILE corrective eye surgery at the start of 2022. Prior to that I wore glasses/contacts for nearsightedness and an astigmatism but the eye strain feeling is the SAME both before and after the surgery. I try to take breaks during PC use and use preservative free eye drops if my eyes are super dry but usually they're fine. I've followed up with other eye doctors and they don't see any issues with my vision that stands out. I'm currently looking into speaking with a vision therapist as I've heard eye strain can also be caused by eye focus issues which aren't easy to diagnose by non-specialists.
I am currently using the following monitors without issue:
- I-Inc IL272DPB 27" HD
- AOC G2770PQU 27" HD
Both of these(from what I can gather) are older 2013/2014 model TN panel monitors with the older style thicker bezels. Seldom do they cause me any major eye strain or fatigue. Usually only on days where I don't sleep well or if I don't use good ambient lighting do I feel any discomfort. I've been using them for nearly a decade though and I'd like to upgrade...the only issue is that it seems like every newer monitor causes me some form of unbearable eyestrain that makes it impossible to work or play on. I work from home so long hours working on Microsoft Office spreadsheets, e-mails, and documents is the norm for me.
Over the last few years I've tried several newer monitors of different sizes, resolutions, and panel types. Here's a list of them:
- Acer Nitro XV272U 27" 2K IPS
- MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD 27" 2K IPS
- Dell S3222DGM 32" 2K VA
- HP X32 31.5" 2K IPS
- Gigabyte M27Q 27" 2K IPS
- MSI Optix MAG274R HD IPS
- GIGABYTE M28U 28" 4K IPS
- Acer XF270HU 27" 2K TN
- Dell S2719DGF 27" 2K TN
All of them caused significant eye strain/fatigue to the point where I could no longer use it without taking pain medication and breaks every 5 minutes. The pain/discomfort feels like a pressure behind the eyes within 15 minutes that usually turns into a dull headache or full blown migraine. What's interesting is that the newer TN panel monitors I've tried gave me quicker and more painful eye strain than IPS/VA despite it being the current panel type I use without issues. I've also given some of these monitors weeks to try to "adjust" to them but I never seem to even with frequent breaks and ergonomic settings. Speaking of those, I've tried a lot after reading other users posts around the forum. Here's my list of what I've tried:
Things I've tried to alleviate issues:
- Using limited RGB mode or sRGB clamp
- Increasing Windows scaling from 100% to 125%-150%
- Tried Windows Night Mode
- Turned down brightness/contrast
- Color calibrated monitor with friends colorimeter
- Tried different refresh rates
- Tried both NVidia and AMD GPUs
- Tried with G-Sync/Freesync on AND off
- Tried turning monitor overdrive modes on/off
- Adjusting ambient lighting (more for me usually helps)
- Tried sitting closer and at arms length away
- Tried "gamer" yellow tinted glasses with and without a slight magnification(x0.50)
- Tried NeuroLens prism glasses via Optometrist with no change(made headaches 10x worse)
So here I am pretty much at the end of my sanity trying to figure out what is wrong with me or if maybe it's just the newer monitors I'm sensitive to and needing to find the right one. I feel cursed having to deal with this as an IT professional that has to be in front of screens a lot of the time. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.