In myopia the lens is bending the light too much even in the most relaxed state. Thus the image is produced in front of the retina. If the object comes closer the lens just adjusts a bit less than a healthy eye and the myopic subject is able to see clearly.
Why is the hyperopic eye not able to do that? If the object is far away, could the lens not just bend a bit more to elicit normal vision? So, why is the Myopic eye able to adjust its focus, but the Hyperopic not?
Short answer
Myopic eyes can still focus on nearby images as the lens needs to relax a bit more than in a normally-sighted person. However, objects far away cannot be focused, because in a complete relaxed state (for distant objects), the lens focuses the image in front of the retina. Hyperopic eyes cannot focus on nearby objects as, at a certain close distance, the lens reaches maximum accomodation (maximum roundness) and objects cannot be focused any longer.
Background
Myopia or near-sightedness is a condition of the eye where the light that comes in does not directly focus on the retina but in front of it, causing the image that one sees when looking at a distant object to be out of focus, but in focus when looking at a close object. Often the eye ball is too long, or the cornea has too much curvature (Web MD).
Hyperopia ("over-measured sight") or farsightedness, is a defect of vision caused typically by the eyeball being too short, or a lens that cannot accomodate/become round enough. It causes difficulty focusing on near objects (wikipedia).
Source:Monroe Publishing
