Absolutely. Lots of personal accounts from the Age of Sail (I focus on the Napoleonic Wars, specifically) mention how calamitous and loud working the guns was, and how many men would try to preserve their hearing in the following ways:

• Stuffing unraveled oakum into their ears
• Pitch and/or beeswax
• Cotton fibers
• Wrapping a kerchief around their ears and forehead.

Even short-term exposure to artillery or gunfire can cause permanent hearing damage. I've spoken to more than a few US Army vets that said they'd stick .45 ACP brass or cigarette butts in their ears on the firing range to help limit damage.