Eye Pain, Headaches, Nausea in Newer Versions

Just jumping into day that this seems to no longer be “unique” problem. There’s an issue with the the new Macbook pros. How are people all over the world (google) experiencing the same issue when we never have before? I just came back from a month of traveling, used my old Macbook the entire time, one day into retuning to working on my new one and my headaches have returned.

I have used a lot Macbook Pro 2019 16' with Retina Display (A)

And then I've bought a Macbook Pro Max 2023 16' with Liquid Retina Display XDR (B)

Here are changes:

1) In A I've used external monitor and it was comfortable for eyes. With B this monitor become too bright. I've tried a lot to change it behaviour. Used https://github.com/MonitorControl/MonitorControl and https://osxdaily.com/2022/04/06/change-remove-font-smoothing-macos/. It was a little better, but not at all. I can't understand, why with same settings, there is a different behaviour on EXTERNAL monitor??

2) My color scheme is sRGB. And in B with this color scheme selected I can't change brightness! Can change brightness only for Apple Display (P3-500 nits) and Apple XDR Display (P3-1600 nits). All other schemes not allow to change brightness. I think it's a bug!

3) I know, that eyes must adopt with a time for new type of screen. But there are screens that very comfortable for eyes from first minutes of using. Why your product not use technologies to make screens comfortable for all types of eyes? Now feeling like apple try to burn my eyes out and it's a contract with medical companies. The MOST comfortable screen was in Macbook Pro 2012.

Try StillColor. You can download it from GitHub for free. Disable dithering and see if it helps.

Apple is using different dithering algorithms on different system versions. Some are really aggressive to eyes to achieve high acutance.

I’m using an iPad Pro 2018 for nearly 6 years. iPadOS 13 and 14 made me nausea and dizziness. While iPadOS 16.3.1 is a life saver which is comfortable. But now iPadOS 17.4.1 brings back the old dithering algorithm or its derivation, and makes me nausea, dizziness and disorientation again.

Your situation is quite unique, and it sounds like you've done a great job of troubleshooting so far. I do have a couple of suggestions that you might not have tried yet.

Given your sensitivity to certain types of display settings, one of the things you might want to consider is adjusting the color temperature of your screen. Warmer colors could potentially be less straining for your eyes. You can use the built-in feature called 'Night Shift' on your Mac which lets you adjust the color temperature. If 'Night Shift' doesn't work, there's a third-party application called f.lux which might be worth exploring.

Also, consider reducing the motion and animations on your Mac. Apple has a feature called 'Reduce Motion' that might help. This can limit some of the dynamic elements of the interface that could potentially cause discomfort.

Since you have already explored the settings on your macOS, have you tried adjusting the settings on your monitors themselves? The contrast and brightness settings of the monitor can also play a big role.

As for your font issues, you might want to look at accessibility options like 'Zoom' or 'Increase Contrast' which might make the screen easier to read.

I hope these suggestions can provide some relief! Please remember that it's important to take regular breaks while working on the computer, and maintaining a good posture can also help.

**References:**

1. Use Night Shift on your Mac - Apple Support

2. f.lux official site

3. Reduce Motion: macOS User Guide - Apple Support

4. Zoom: macOS User Guide - Apple Support

5. Increase Contrast: macOS User Guide - Apple Support

6. Adjust your display’s brightness and contrast: Change your Mac display’s resolution - Apple Support

I'm really happy to hear that Marja E. Assuming you reported your experiences to Apple as I suggested some time ago, you almost certainly influenced changes they implemented in Sonoma. That's how things get done!

Is there any workaround at all?

Marja E, I know you asked about this in the past, but if anyone is going to find a workaround, it's you.

It shouldn't be painful to use a Mac. If you have not done so already, you can (and should) contact Apple to express your concerns, and they may take an interest in them, but it is almost certain all they will have to suggest is everything you already tried.

It's a very subjective experience, and I have personally seen all kinds of workarounds that at least come close to a solution for that particular user. In one case the user had changed the display hue to what I consider is a horrible and garish bright pink overtone that I would not be able to tolerate for five seconds. Yet it worked — for that user.

Anyway the bottom line is this: you already know more than Apple does about the phenomenon. I am not being facetious.

Apple mass markets devices that are usable by the majority of people. Apple does not make custom devices tailored to every individual need. This is the way life is with "for profit" organizations.

It's unfortunate you have migrains ... so do I since age 6. When in my teens I carried a pill bottle with 6 Demerol tablets around with me at all times. I was officially diagnosed at 19 and starting there, I tried many different medications. I finally found a preventive that works BY ACCIDENT in 2001.

The point is, your medical condition must be treated by the medical community. I certainly empathize with your problem, but what you want is akin to telling auto makers to produce sight correcting wind shields. It's just not going to happen. Drivers wear glasses; there are no prescription wind shields.

I just switched to a Macbook Pro from a Windows PC. I use two external monitors. For three days I started having terrible headaches, eye pain and dizziness. One of you mentioned something about sRGB and I remembered that three days ago I changed the monitors profiles (Dell and LG in my case) to sRGB. I changed the settings back and... bingo.... the headache disappeared instantly. :) Very strange, two hours ago I couldn't even look at the display. It could be a coincidence, I could test, but I was so sick that I wouldn't really want to try. I hope it helps someone.

"Yes, I have seen a doctor-- a series of doctors-- for my migraines. But

they haven't been able to help, and only using Mojave *does* help. So

please don't ask me to see another doctor again."

You provided your own answer in your post.

Medical issues need to be handled by medical professionals. There is no way for us to diagnose or fix your medical issues.

From MacBook Pro retina болят глаза и голова - Apple Community and https://qna.habr.com/q/493297

There are more people that meet this problem. Here are prompted texts of their issues:

Really dangerous problem from apple for your eyes...

Marja E wrote:

Please don't insist users should give up on accessibility help, and only search for medical help, especially when we've spent years seeing various doctors without success.

In my case, Mojave is usable. Catalina is painful. It's clearly a combination of my neuro issues and Apple's design changes. If I knew what those design changes were, I might be able to find a workaround in MacOS, or at least, figure out what might be worth trying in Linux instead.

I am sorry you are having issues and I am sorry I could not help you. I hesitate to advise users with medical issues that are somehow related to or aggravated by their use of a computer. If I was to advise you to change some dispaly settings and this caused additional harm to your eyes I'm sure you would not be happy and would be posting back with even more criticism.

If it was me having eye issues when using a computer I would consult with an eye specialist to get their advice regarding what was causing the issues and ask for their recommendations regarding ongoing computer use. We have no idea what may be causing your eye issues, frequency, color, font size, etc. Maybe it is your environment and not the computer operating system that is contributing to your issues. Maybe it is deteriorating health that is contributing to your issues and not the computer.

Maybe an analogy would help understand where I am coming from. If I was to post that my leg hurts whenever I walk, contributors here could advise me to walk slower, walk faster, walk more, walk less, walk downhill, walk uphill, etc. Any one of these suggestions could cause additional pain/damage and would be inappropriate recommendations without knowing the root cause of the pain.

Hopefully you will work this out to your satisfaction.

Once again, sorry I could not help.