MODEL RELEASED. Lazy eye. Boy, aged 6, reads while wearing an eye patch over his left eye to treat amblyopia, also known as lazy eye. Amblyopia is a permanent defect of visual acuity where there is no structural abnormality in the eye. It usually results from a disturbance of the visual pathway between the eye and the brain. This is caused (for example) by a squint where only one eye points directly at a specific image. In such a case, vision in the other eye will be suppressed by the brain. Patching of the good eye and thereby forcing the bad eye to function properly is the usual treatment. However, after the age of eight years, this treatment is ineffective.