Definition
A limitation that may be placed on a medical certificate when the FAA medical examiner determines that the applicant has a hearing deficiency that prevents reliable use of aviation radio communications. The pilot may still exercise the privileges of their certificate, but only in operations and airspace where two-way radio communication is not required.
Plain English
A note on your medical certificate that says you can fly, but not in any situation that would require you to talk on the radio. It is added when a hearing test shows you cannot reliably hear or understand radio calls.
Context Anchor
Seen on FAA medical certificates and in discussions of medical certification limitations, especially when a hearing issue affects safe radio communication.
Why Pilots Care
It restricts the pilot to uncontrolled airspace and VFR operations without ATC contact, directly affecting training routes, cross-country planning, and aircraft choice.
Intuition Check
Do not read “not valid” as meaning the whole medical certificate is invalid. It means the certificate cannot be used for this specific kind of flight: a flight that requires radio use.
Example Sentence 1
Because his medical certificate carried the limitation 'not valid for flight requiring the use of radio,' the pilot planned his cross-country to use only non-towered airports in Class G airspace.
Example Sentence 2
Because of the restriction, the pilot flew only local VFR patterns at non-towered airports.