Traps ear: joke ending in heartache (7)
I believe the answer is:
luggage
'traps' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'ear joke ending in heartache' is the wordplay.
'ear' becomes 'lug' (I've seen this before).
'joke' becomes 'gag' ('gag' can be a synonym of 'joke').
'ending in' says to take the final letters.
The last letter of 'heartache' is 'e'.
'lug'+'gag'+'e'='LUGGAGE'
(Other definitions for luggage that I've seen before include "Traveller's bags etc" , "Suitcases for journey" , "case?" , "Traps" , "Trunks and cases of traveller" .)