Ms Elaine Dennehy:

The problem started for me in 2007. It was easy enough to avoid in the beginning but there came a time when I was completely overwhelmed. That was probably about four to five years after that. My close family and the people in my network understood and believed me because they saw it escalate from the very beginning and so it did not seem that unbelievable to them. However, for somebody hearing it for the first time - it was maybe four or five years later before I started to tell people - it was considered unusual. I felt uncomfortable about whether I would be believed or whether I would be considered crazy and about how I was picking up on this form of light when others were operating perfectly fine underneath it.

The Senator mentioned CFLs. I am not good under those and do not have them in my home either but I am fine with them from a distance or for short periods of time. For me, there is a contrast between those two forms of light. Fluorescent lighting has been mainly in workplaces and we had a choice of what light source to use in our homes up until very recently. Whereas CFLs were being pushed in the 1990s they are now being phased out for health reasons as they are toxic in landfill. However, with LEDs we are now replacing one problematic light with another. LEDs are causing a whole host of other new symptoms people were not experiencing with CFL. I was sensitive to CFL, just mildly. The difference with LEDs is they are in every environment, unlike CFL. Now we cannot obtain the normal light sources like halogen or CFL for consumers who are okay with it. LEDs are in every appliance, including televisions, dishwashers, washing machines and microwaves and they are in power-on buttons and people's phones and watches. They are absolutely everywhere on the streets and in car lights and more public spaces are now lit with LED now. It is nearly a step-up from the CFL issue as we had more choices. People who are sensitive to LEDs have no choice now as LEDs are the main source of lighting across the globe.