Eye Pain, Headaches, Nausea in Newer Versions

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.

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.

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

kuwilileni wrote:

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.

You're mixing up hardware and software changes.

The OP says that they have problems when running some versions of macOS, and not when running others – on the same hardware. I can believe that if the OP is using a non-Retina display, text quality got worse. I have read that Apple removed sub-pixel aliasing. That made for better text on standard-PPI monitors, but might also have created non-modular dependencies throughout the macOS code. I believe there have also been some changes with regards to font smoothing.

If the OP has a monitor with a resolution of less than 4K, or has a very large 4K monitor that is not running in any Retina mode, the OP might be among those affected by text rendering changes.

I could be mistaken, but I doubt that there are any changes from one version of macOS to the next which would have any effect on PWM flicker rates for a particular built-in display or external monitor. Whereas replacing one notebook computer or external monitor with another might lead to changes in PPI, text/object size, presence or absence of PWM, and PWM flicker rates.

I've tried

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 3

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 1

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -float 0.5

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -float 0.99

The most similar setting was 1. But finaly decide to remove this setting because some font was smoothed good and some not.

defaults -currentHost remove -g AppleFontSmoothing

Read more https://www.fontsmoothingadjuster.com/

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I've tried to play with https://github.com/waydabber/BetterDisplay, but it didn't help and strange eye strain keeped. I think the deal is in ProMotion screen rate. Сontinuing the investigation..

You might try getting different colored plastic and hold them up to your eyes to see if a particular color might be better. If one does help you could get glasses with that tint or clips.

Have you tried Night Shade in Display settings?

Try to disable temporal dithering

[Edited by Moderator]

"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.

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.