I've been doing metal fab for years as a hobby, and more recently as a job, currently use an optrel crystal 2.0 helmet about 5 days a week. I'm super paranoid about protecting my eyes, usually wearing sunglasses outside too. Have had my eyes checked out at an eye clinic several times. They seem to be okay, although recently I confirmed I do have astigmatism. Years ago, the auto darkening helmets weren't good. My result was damaged night vision. My local eye doc disputed that, saying even if the helmet didn't darken, the lens still blocks all UV, which is what damages the eye. I don't know, but it took years for my night vision to come back. My question to you guys in the grow room though is, how does your lighting compare to the sun? I'm not growing currently, but when I was, I knew my bulbs were producing some uvb due to how they discolored plastics. My a/c has a tan line on it like it was outside partially exposed to the sun. However, I never wore sunglasses in the grow room, because I believed that my uv level was significantly lower that outside on a sunny day, and my bulbs were also not directly visible. My setup had reflector walls coming up from a screen with the lights at the top. No experience with LEDs here either, mine were metal halides.
I would say if you notice any effect on your night vision, and being in the grow room is the only thing you're doing that could be damaging your eyes, might want to start wearing sunglasses in it.
