How long do military suppressors work for until they wear out or break?

My friends told me that suppressors, or silencers, used by the military only quiet your firearm for a certain number of shots before the suppressor stops working and the gunshot is as loud as it is without a suppressor. Is this true or can suppressors be used for as long as an operator wants?|||Suppressors will wear out eventually - just like anything else. And they do start to become less effective as they get dirty, but they'll still provide a noticeable difference for more than a thousand rounds without cleaning.|||Above is correct. The idea is to absorb not only sound but heat. Usually with baffling where the exhaust gas can dissipate into some metal. Depending on the packing material much of it gets coated just like the inside of a barrel with particles and residue. Therefore, depending on the burn of propellant you can get one fouled quickly or not.