Apple’s iOS7 Could Worsen Migraine, Headache Symptoms

The zooming, sliding, parallax and other features of the new iPhone and iPad software could worsen your migraine or headache disorder symptoms. The British newspaper the Guardian reports that iOS 7 is making people with vestibular and some neurological disorders sicker. Unfortunately, I learned this firsthand when I upgraded my iPhone. The dizziness, nausea, and increased headache when I use my phone means I went from loving my phone and using it constantly, to no longer even wanting to look at it. And that’s after changing the accessibility settings to “reduced motion” (Settings > General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion).

If you haven’t upgraded yet, spend some time on someone else’s upgraded device before you commit to it on your own. Once you upgrade, there’s no going back! I was very careful to backup my phone before the upgrade, thinking I could restore it if I didn’t like the new operating system. When I tried to restore it, I discovered that iTunes forces the iOS7 upgrade along with the restore, thus rendering it an ineffective solution. Some Googling revealed that Apple no longer allows such downgrades.

If you’ve been made sick by the new animations on iOS 7, you can send a short email to accessibility@apple.com to explain which animations are problematic for you and request directions for disabling them. Or if you’ve decided not to upgrade because of the potential of worsening your symptoms, email them at that same address to request accessibility accommodations so you can use their software in the future.