Ken Jeong Reveals Battle With Dry Eye Disease After Decades of Dismissing Symptoms
Ken Jeong is urging Americans to take their eye health more seriously, after taking decades to address his own dry eye disease symptoms.
With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to increased screen time—from binge-watching Netflix shows to scrolling through TikTok, Instagram and Twitter—more people are experiencing dry eye, though not necessarily treating it.
And with the imminent arrival of Dry Eye Disease Awareness Month in July, Jeong—himself a qualified M.D. who remains a licensed physician in California—has revealed that he only recently sought treatment after decades of symptoms.
"I've suffered from dry eyes, whether it be in a hospital setting, or a film or TV production setting," The Masked Singer panelist Jeong said in an interview with Newsweek. "Just having the feeling—sand in your eyes. It's a chronic problem."
He successfully treated his symptoms with Xiidra prescription eye drops, and has now joined forces with pharmaceutical company Novartis to help spread the message that there is help available for those continuing to experience issues.
"The thing about Xiidra [is] it targets the potential sources of inflammation that cause dry eye," said Jeong. "For me, it worked. Talk with your doctor first before anything, and consult with your eye doctor about Xiidra first.
"Any time there's some chronicity involved, you feel it long term, to a point where you're like, 'I've got to do something about it.' So I think that's kind of how the trajectory was for me."
Dr. Ashley Brissette, ophthalmologist and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, says that dry eye disease (DED) cases continue to rapidly increase.
"It is a complex condition affecting the eye's surface and may present as symptoms including blurry vision, eye discomfort, irritation or pain," Dr. Brissette told Newsweek. "In 2013, an estimated 16 million people in the United States were diagnosed with DED, and an additional 6 million people reported having dry eye symptoms, but had not been diagnosed with DED.
"However, that number has only increased since then, and I'm finding in my practice that many of my patients are complaining about worsening dry eye symptoms due to lifestyle changes throughout the pandemic such as increased screen time.
"This is a chronic condition that can worsen over time which is why it's important to seek medical advice if you think you may be experiencing DED."
And it isn't just increased screen time that has been blamed for the rising number of DED cases—the widespread use of face masks, while deemed important during the pandemic, has been probed as a contributing factor in a new study.
With loosely worn masks often forcing the air that people breathe out upwards, a study published in the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology has stated that the side effect could be dry patches on the accelerate corneal tear film evaporation, leading to dry spots on the eye.
Jeong spoke with Newsweek from London, where he has been working on The Pentaverate, an upcoming limited Netflix series boasting an ensemble cast that includes Mike Myers, Keegan-Michael Key and Debi Mazar.
Resolutely tight-lipped on sharing any details, Jeong told Newsweek: "All I can say is that Mike is one of my heroes of comedy, just like every comedian I know. And I am beyond giddy working with him. He's a friend as well.
"But all I'm allowed to say is I'm truly having the time of my life. Every day is pure joy and when you leave your work with a big, solid smile on your face it's not work."
He was, however, notably more loose-lipped while discussing his hit TV shows The Masked Singer—"it's pure escapist joy!"—and I Can See Your Voice, where "we're all here to help one person realize their dreams."
"What I like about being on both shows is [on] The Masked Singer I'm a panelist and I have so much fun. I'm able to use my comedy and my improv skills, just to have a laugh. And then [on] I Can See Your Voice, it's really more of me as a person. I'm not a panelist, I'm the host and I'm setting the tone of the show."
And Jeong has revealed that his medical background was a surprisingly dominant part of his uncredited work on both shows behind the scenes last year.
"I've never been in doctor mode more in my life than behind the scenes of The Masked Singer and I Can See Your Voice last summer," he told Newsweek, "because we were among the first productions in the United States to go into production during the pandemic."
"So if anything, I never felt more like a physician in my entertainment career," added Jeong, who said that being asked medical questions behind the scenes was a regular part of his backstage life.
"I definitely felt a responsibility to really be up to date every single day of all the news and all the advances, whether it be vaccines or medications or daily case rates," he said. "To this day, it's something that I feel a sense of responsibility."
