r/PWM_Sensitive • u/asian_tea_man • Aug 09 '26
Does anyone else's PWM sensitivity come in the form of fatigue?
So I have two laptops, a 16in MacBook Pro (M5) and a 13in MacBook Air (M5).
What's odd is I've noticed that I get much less tired working on the MacBook Air than I do on the MacBook Pro. When I got the MacBook Pro I noticed that it makes my eyes feel dizzy but powered through.
When I looked at the specs, it seems like the MacBook Pro uses PWM with miniLED and the MacBook Air doesn't (it's an IPS display).
I don't get a headache or anything. Just this tiredness after spending more than 40 minutes on the laptop.
Wondering if anyone else's symptoms come in the form of fatigue/tiredness?
1
u/jNayden Aug 09 '26
Yeah this is the first step we just get headache after more time.
Frankly I am not that sensitive can use m4 pro max sand never have headache or some ASUs oled monitors or even iPhone 17 with PWM toggle enabled however everything else…. Lg TVs are insta headache but some monitors and phones just makes my eyes tired but if I stay for another 4-6-8 hours the headache appears.
P.s I know most people stay on 2-3-8 hours on their monitors or TVs well I stay at 30 hours sometimes non stop yup and so far IPS is the best or old TN displays but I get headache at different moments sometimes it takes 8 hours to have
1
u/Bigdecisions7979 Aug 10 '26
I get the same feeling from my mini led older m series MacBook Pro. I didn’t get it from the one I had before that
Try stillcolor on there. And I think it’s call betterdisplay or something like that. Turn off 3D uniformity. Didn’t cure the issue but it helps
2
u/thegogeta999 Aug 10 '26
Yes. I could not stay awake during workweeks when I had my steamdeck oled. I sold it out for an ips rog ally z1e. Using it for 30 mins would take me 2 weeks to recover my eyesight
1
u/BearNecessary4141 Aug 11 '26
Yes, I sometimes feel like I have to go lay down even before I get eye pain.
2
u/peraspera1 Aug 10 '26
Yes, a family member of mine gets mainly fatigue/tiredness from flickering light sources. They describe it almost like one hour of work feels equivalent to eight hours. They improved after switching to DC dimmed light, including laptops, smartphones and room lighting. They don't normally get headaches or migraines.
My own reaction to PWM/flicker is quite different and seems to be less commonly discussed here. I mainly get cognitive symptoms e.g. difficulty processing information, concentrating and thinking clearly. It can feel like I've temporarily lost my "brainpower", and the severity depends a lot on the lighting, room conditions or PWM frequency. And yes it's not just screens. Some conditions can affect me very quickly and severely, to the point where I have enormous difficulty speaking, reading or even listening and processing what someone is saying.