Glad to see you found a solution for you. I am very light sensitive and one of things I don't like about my 6600 is that the lights are TOO bright. I sew with all the lights out in the sewing room and sometimes have to switch to another machine when those become more than I can bear.
I also can't stand Ott lights. They make me throw up - literally.
I am asking out of curiosity not meanness, was this always a problem or is it related to aging? I couldn't imagine ever needing things further away because my vision is so bad and that finally happened but I don't know what I am going to do if I start needing more light to sew. I am afraid I will have to stop all together because I just can't tolerate more lighting. I turn my lights on to cut and then back off.