Rising complaint from new leader of distinction in ancient city (3,5)
I believe the answer is:
the bends
'rising complaint' is the definition.
(sensation after rising from a dive)
'new leader of distinction in ancient city' is the wordplay.
'new' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation eg NT for New Testament).
'leader of' indicates taking the first letters.
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'ancient city' becomes 'thebes' (ancient Greek city).
The initial letter of 'distinction' is 'd'.
'n'+'d'='nd'
'nd' put inside 'thebes' is 'THE BENDS'.
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for the bends that I've seen before include "Decompression sickness; Radiohead album" , "on high mountain roads?" , "Sickness which drivers must watch out for" , "Diver's sickness; Radiohead album" , "A risk for divers" .)