Some drunken ear stroking approaches (5)
I believe the answer is:
nears
'approaches' is the definition.
('near' can be a synonym of 'approach')
'some drunken ear stroking' is the wordplay.
'some' says the answer is hidden in the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'NEARS' is hidden within 'drunken ear stroking'.
(Other definitions for nears that I've seen before include "Bears down" , "Draws close" , "Draws closer to" , "Moves towards" , "Moves closer to" .)