Does the car have an aftermarket shifter? If so, it's normal.
Transmissions are actually pretty noisy. The reason you don't hear much with the OEM shifter is the use of a rubber isolator in the shifter itself that prevents alot of the gear noise from making it into the cabin. Aftermarket shifters do away with the squishy, rubbery isolation to get a crisper feel and the penalty is more noise.
If it's still got the factory shifter and you've noticed the thing getting louder, you might want to check things like the trans fluid level and the rubber isolator in the shift handle.