Vibrio cholerae non-01 strains are biochemically indistinguishable from VI cholerae 01 strains, but do not agglutinate in V. cholerae 01 group antiserum. A strain of Vibrio cholerae non-01, subsequently identified as 02, was isolated from ear pus of a 31-year-old man with otitis media. He had history of hearing loss, otorrhea, and tinnitus and the symptoms were aggravated after recreational exposure to sea water. Laboratorians should consider Vibrio when gram-negative bacilli are isolated from patients with recent history of raw fish or shellfish consumption or exposure to sea water