Nobleman briefly getting attention (3)
I believe the answer is:
ear
'attention' is the definition.
(ear is a kind of attention)
'nobleman briefly' is the wordplay.
'nobleman' becomes 'earl' (earl is a kind of nobleman).
'briefly' means to remove the last letter.
'earl' with its final letter removed is 'EAR'.
'getting' is the link.
(Other definitions for ear that I've seen before include "Lug (colloq.)" , "Attention; seed head" , "Hammer in this" , "Fruiting head of a cereal" , "Part of a cereal plant containing the seeds" .)