Listeners follow the northern approaches (5)
I believe the answer is:
nears
'approaches' is the definition.
(I know this)
'listeners follow the northern' is the wordplay.
'listeners' becomes 'ears' (body parts which listen).
'follow' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'the northern' becomes 'n' (abbreviation e.g. N. Ireland).
'ears' after 'n' is 'NEARS'.
(Other definitions for nears that I've seen before include "Saner (anag.)" , "Becomes closer" , "Draws closer to" , "Bears down" , "is approaching" .)