My corporal maybe beginning to bawl: in the ear, that is! (7)
I believe the answer is:
corncob
'in the ear that is' is the definition.
(ear can refer to a piece of corn)
'my corporal maybe beginning to bawl' is the wordplay.
'my' becomes 'cor' (I've seen this in other clues).
'corporal maybe' becomes 'nco' (non-commissioned officer).
'beginning to' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'bawl' is 'b'.
'cor'+'nco'+'b'='CORNCOB'
(Other definitions for corncob that I've seen before include "Head of maize" , "Central part of the maize ear" , "Maize ear used for tobacco pipe" , "Core of ear of maize" , "Off which maize is eaten" .)