To gala I wandered despite the pain (7)
I believe the answer is:
otalgia
'the pain' is the definition.
(otalgia is a kind of pain)
'to gala i wandered' is the wordplay.
'wandered' is an anagram indicator.
'to'+'gala'+'i'='togalai'
'togalai' anagrammed gives 'OTALGIA'.
'despite' is the link.
(Other definitions for otalgia that I've seen before include "Ear ache" , "painful condition" , "Problem with ears" , "Earache" , "pain!" .)