Freezing water affected ears: SOS! (4,3)
I believe the answer is:
ross sea
'freezing water' is the definition.
'ross sea' can be an answer for 'water' (I have seen 'Cold water' mean 'ross sea' so perhaps 'water' could also mean 'ross sea'). I am not certain of the 'freezing' bit.
'affected ears sos' is the wordplay.
'affected' is an anagram indicator.
'ears'+'sos'='earssos'
'earssos' with letters rearranged gives 'ROSS SEA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ross sea that I've seen before include "body of water" , "Antarctic inlet of the Pacific" , "South Pacific area" , "Cold water" , "Large bay in Antarctica" .)