While your upstairs neighbors might just be walking around their kitchen, an old building can make their steps sound like a giant riding an elephant wearing tap shoes on a brick of cement. Overhearing parties, loud televisions, couples fighting, the amateur violinist downstairs practicing--investing in a good pair of noise-canceling headphones and a broom for the ceiling is sometimes the only solution.
Most tenants prefer to keep the peace with the people they share a living space with, and approaching your neighbors politely is usually the first step to a solution. If you're met with a nasty monologue about why it's absolutely necessary to scream-sing Broadway ballads every Monday night at midnight, though, it might be time to take it up with the building manager (or their Bluetooth speakers).
So, when a frustrated apartment-dweller decided to consult the moral compass of the internet otherwise known as Reddit's "Am I the As*hole?" about her almost impressively loud upstairs neighbors, people were there to help deem a verdict.